Akshay Kumar Not Only Huge Star, Also Magnificent Actor: PadMan Director

New Delhi: PadMan director R Balki believes that Akshay Kumar has brilliantly 'captured the soul of the character and actually portrayed Arunachalam Muruganatham in his style' reported news agency IANS. Akshay Kumar plays A Muruganatham, who invented low-cost sanitary pad making machines. Director Balki told IANS, "Akshay Kumar captured the essence of the character that very few actors can do. Most actors are fantastic at capturing body languages of people but he didn't do that." PadMan, which chronicles the journey of Mr Muruganatham, also stars Radhika Apte as Akshay Kumar's wife and Sonam Kapoor. The film was released on Friday.

Speaking about Akshay being the lead actor in the film, Mr Balki said, "The biggest commercial element in PadMan is Akshay Kumar and he knew what he is getting into because I make a certain kind of films with a certain language of making it."

Mr Balki, who was at the panel discussion 'Say No To Stigma And Taboos Period', at the Indian Merchants Chamber (IMC), Mumbai, also said, "We all know Akshay Kumar is a huge star and a good actor, but I think he is a magnificent actor. Most people make a lot of fuss about theories of acting, schools of acting and intellectualized cinema, he doesn't do anything that's why he is a lot like Muruganatham," IANS quoted him as saying.

Talking about the mission behind making a film like PadMan, he said, "It's not a film intended for people, who know about menstrual hygiene, but for those who are not aware and still need to be including both women and men."

The film has received humongous support from celebrities nationwide, who participated in the "PadMan Challenge" and shared their photographs holding up a sanitary napkin to spread awareness about menstruation hygiene.

Deepika Padukone, Aamir Khan, Alia Bhatt, Parineeti Chopra, Varun Dhawan and Anushka Sharma among a host of others accepted the "PadMan Challenge."

Take a look at some of the pictures from "PadMan Challenge"
 

 

@varundvn & I just hanging out, holding a pad, no big deal, just another regular day. Best of luck @akshaykumar @sonamkapoor @radhikaofficial for #PadMan. Nominating @karanjohar @katrinakaif @tigerjackieshroff. It was discussed and these are both our nominations!!!

A post shared by AnushkaSharma1588 (@anushkasharma) on Feb 5, 2018 at 2:54am PST

 

 

Thank you for tagging me @akshaykumar ! Yes, that's a Pad in my hand & there's nothing to be ashamed about...It's natural! Period. #PadManChallenge Copy, Paste this & Challenge your friends to take a photo with a Pad! Here I am challenging Badminton Champion & Olympic Medal Winner @pvsindhu1

A post shared by Deepika Padukone (@deepikapadukone) on Feb 3, 2018 at 9:18am PST

 

 

Challenge accepted @arjunkapoor and @masabagupta !! Yes that's a pad in my hand and there is nothing to be ashamed about!!! Its natural. Period. ALL THE BEST YOU GUYS #PADMAN !! @sonamkapoor @akshaykumar @twinklerkhanna

A post shared by Parineeti Chopra (@parineetichopra) on Feb 8, 2018 at 4:40am PST

PadMan is a film with a social message - menstrual hygiene in India - based on a short story from Twinkle Khanna's book The Legend of Lakshmi Prasad, which was inspired by the life of Arunachalam Muruganantham, a Tamil Nadu-based entrepreneur. Twinkle Khanna has also produced the film.