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Pad Man Review: A Man Can Be a Woman’s Best Friend

Well, PadMan has landed in New York City, and the do-gooder while doing good for society is also bringing in the big bucks at the box-office!

‘Pad Man’ has already done well in India and is raking in the big bucks in America too. According to Gitesh Pandya of Box Office Guru, In North America, the opening weekend was $740,000 which was 9% bigger than the $679,000 for Akshay Kumar’s last film ‘Toilet – Ek Prem Kahani’. Pad Man grossed $1 million in the first full week surpassing the lifetime grosses here for Akshay films like ‘Singh is Bliing’, ‘Baby’ and ‘Holiday’ after just 7 days of release. Certainly it will be one of Akshay Kumar’s top grossing films ever in North America.

 

 

A lot of it has to do with word of mouth too and the buzz has built up with riends telling friends about it.  A free screening organized by the Indian Consulate brought in a packed house and the appreciative crowd certainly went home knowing more about women’s menstrual health and the saga of the Pad Man – real and reel – than they knew before.

I had written why the film was important much before I actually saw it but after seeing it, I’m even more of a believer. Rarely do message movies do well with the critics or at the box office but ‘Pad Man’ had a number of factors going for it. Its sincerity and sense of humor, for one. It’s direction by R. Balki  which keeps things lively and moving along, and the audience thoroughly engaged.

 

The biggest factor of course is Akshay Kumar playing Lakshmikant Chauhan whose character is based on the life of Arunachalam Muruganantham, a social activist who was the innovator behind a low-cost sanitary napkin.  The film is in fact based on a short story by Akshay’s wife, Twinkle Khanna who has also produced the film.

Akshay Kumar is perfectly suited to the role of the bighearted innocent innovator who goes against the prejudices of society to help the woman in his life – and by extension all women. Akshay owns the screen and you believe everything which comes out of his mouth, no matter how corny, because he plays a unique, one-of-a-kind guy with his own moral compass, and in his own unique style.  Akshay really outdoes himself in the grand finale in the United Nations  – In this scene speaking in Linglish (Lakshmi’s English) he is just delightful and deserves the huge ovation he gets!

The very natural cast looks very much a part and parcel of the dust and chaos of small town India and it’s a pleasure to meet villagers and townspeople who look as if they have been there for generations instead of on a casting call. The two women in Lakshmi’s life are both wonderful – Radhika Apte as his docile wife and Sonam Kapoor as the fiery MBA student who helps his dream to materialize. Sonam plays the role with intelligence and subtlety while Radhika shines within the confines of her role – the devoted wife who is rooting for her husband in spite of society’s prejudices.

What makes the film come alive is the sassy dialogue and the fresh, of the moment catchy lyrics – I was really quite blown away by the songs which refuse to leave your brain even days after the movie and seem lodged there forever. The lyrics are simple and joyful and really propel the story forward, especially ‘Aaj Se Teri’ and ‘Saale Sapne’.The lyrics are by Kausar Munir and the music is composed by Amit Trivedi.

While the film has received some criticism, it is nevertheless a winner – if it helps even one man to change his attitude towards women or even one family to treat its mothers, wives and daughters with respect, ‘Pad Man’ will have done its job!

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‘PadMan’ – Akshay Kumar, A Superhero for our Troubled Times