User reviews

A beautiful movie with a strong message. Akshay Kumar hits a bullseye again and shines as a winner with his wonderful and effortless acting. He is lovable and takes the movie to the next level. The story as we all know is very inspiring but the execution is what makes it believable and entertaining. R Balki has done a good job and the movie does not bore you even a bit. Radhika Aapte as always delivers a strong performance. Sonam Kapoor is fine and has performed better than all her previous movies. Highly recommend everyone to watch this movie.

PADMAN, the movie full of motivation, is about India's one of the real Superhero. Necessity is the mother of innovation is said somewhere, here it is implemented.

Padman is a movie which has romance, comedy, serious as well as heart touching moments distributed equally. This is a brave topic to come up with so hats off to Twinkle Khanna, R Balki and the entire team. Special hats off to Mr. Arunachalam Murugnatham for his extraordinary contribution to the society.

The film has many moments which make us laugh naturally and its not forced humor. Chemistry between Akshay Kumar and Radhika Apte is also good. The problem of unhygienic sanitation habit is shown in a bold way and its seriousness can be felt while watching the film. The film has some emotional moments when Padman fails as well as when Padman comes to know that his first Pad which was tested was successful. Best part of the movie includes the scene before interval which reminds of Toilet Ek Prem Katha scene. Mr. Arunachalam is given perfect tribute also in the starting credits as well as in the end which is a good part. The machine making is shown which is a very good part. BGM is very nice. Music of the film is fairly well and justified.

Flaws in the film, I found 2 flaws. This film is spanned over some 8-10 years they could have shown some age difference in the looks of the characters it felt as if everything is happening in the span of 1-2 years only. 2nd flaw is the romantic angle in the later part of the film could have been avoided nevertheless it was also justified but it was looking like extra part in the film.

Talking about the performances, Akshay Kumar as Lakshmikant Chauhan is fantabulous, one of the best performance of his career. Its another feather to his collection and it should not be a surprise if this act is considered for a national award. He has nailed it in every scene may it be demonstration of his machine or monologue in the end or testing pad on himself or making of the machine. Radhika Apte, has given amazing performance, she is having some amazing emotional scenes and she has performed beautifully. She perfectly suits in a village woman role with a narrow minded thinking. Sonam Kapoor as Pari has her moments in the film. She is the hero along with Lakshmikant. She has some amazing dialogues in her account. Other performances of Lakshmi's mother and sisters as well as 2 friends and Pari's father are also remarkable. And then there is the one and only Amitabh Bachchan, R Balki's favourite in the special appearance. Its just 2-3 minutes role but he stole the show in his own style. Amazing dialogues by him in just those 2-3 minutes. There are some clap worthy and whistle-able scenes too.

R Balki's direction is classic. This is his personal best along with Paa. The camerawork is awesome. Locations in the film are not much important according to film but still Maheshwar is beautiful and it captures true village environment. Editing could have been a bit better but its good there is no unnecessary nuisance in the film.

Overall the film is enjoyable, entertaining yet giving a very strong message and motivation. There is no logical error in the film as a normal audience and there is no scene which makes family audience feel awkward. There is no boring moment in the film which makes us feel that when is it ending. Its a motivating film after Dangal. Please don't miss it as we don't have many good movies coming every year.

Even before I start analysing 'PadMan' as a movie, I assume films like these have to be lauded simply because they're being made. That actors and filmmakers are using cinema as a tool to strike conversations, tickle thoughts and lift debates, itself is a alleviation; especially in a country of over one hundred crores with numerous problems, most of them neither spoken nor understood.

PadMan' is purely a sworn statement of a man's adventure from not anything to contentment; totally banking upon on his very own desires of bringing about fantastic modifications and supporting them sustain. if you ignore a few exaggerations (and i worry I don't have takers for pronouncing this), it is an inspiring film and will create advantageous affects. Decently shot by p.c. Sreeram and rightly complemented with soundtracks composed by Amit Trivedi, it features great performances from each Radhika Apte and Akshay Kumar; and not to forget about, a fluent Sonam Kapoor in a brief yet pivotal role.

Watch 'PadMan' to encourage greater movies that communicate about actual troubles; more real than fairytale love stories. Even the real love stories are examined with terrible times, remember? Like that of Lakshmikant and Gayatri.

First and foremost a big round of applause to every single entity (Actors ,producers,director,writer,cameraman) who are associated with this real life inspired piece of lifetime reality . Akshay kumar has acted flawlessly and setting another milestone for himself by acting as a rigid man who does not give up his dream even after multiple failures and malign and turns from a "Badman to padman".Being a woman it was more easier to connect to each and every action of the protagonist such as testing the pad on his own(by pumping animal blood) was the most touching scene which made me cry while watching.It gives me goosebumps while I think about the real hero Mr Lakshmikant.A jumbo hats off to him from the core of my heart and mind. Rest all have also played their part very responsibly and successfully. This piece inspires to dream about every small and untouched but inevitable needs of life associated with human being(Irrespective of caste creed and gender). I will not go very far to proof this as I always wanted to write a review on movies and this is the movie which forced me to write the review right after coming back from theatre. Though this story makes more sense to developing and underdeveloped countries like India where chums is still a taboo to talk about still the movie deserves a nomination for Oscar in regional film category in the year of 2018.

There's a montage sometime in the first hour where the central character approaches women from different walks of life but finds it difficult to convince even one of them to try out his indigenous product. Reason? The touchy subject. Padman aspires to break this stigma associated with the subject of menstrual hygiene. From a delivery point of view, it is roaring succes.

Akshay Kumar plays Lakshmi, a simple, uneducated man living with his mother, two sisters, and newly-wedded wife, Gayatri. A bit of an oddball in his thought processes, he makes it his life goal to produce low-cost sanitary napkins when he learns about the hard-up conditions that Gayatri and the women around him including his sisters, who have recently hit puberty live in, when it comes to menstruation. The religious aspect of the issue - where menstruating women are supposed to isolate themselves and live outside the house during the cycle (mostly in rural India) because they are considered impure - also bothers him, which is why Padman looks like it has been written with a complete contemplation of the issue. And, for a person, who has been exposed to high-octane, mindless Bollywood potboilers, this can come as a surprise.

Padman, therefore, is a critique of our times when a technically developed country like India that aspires to be digital-ready struggles with something as crucial and necessary as menstrual sanitation. Lakshmi's attempts to educate the people around him and fight the stigma that is stuck like the plague is much more important than to invent a low-cost napkin that is both efficient and cheap. Despite being a little bit successful in the latter department, Lakshmi continuously struggles to remove the preconceptions about menstruation that people have and which they are not ready to talk about. This hesitance to converse about an issue that is tied to a woman's innate health is alarming, and Padman tries to preach about that. Of course, it's a preach, but a social film cannot do without it if it intends to send the point across. Considering that director R Balki is targeting rural India with this film, I am personally content and confident that it will tick.

It is because of not just the construction of the sanitary pad but also the construction of the screenplay that this works. Padman excels in all departments, also giving intermediate knowledge about napkins if people don't know about it already. A well-written plot that reminds us of Shree Narayan Singh's 2017 hit drama on a similar social issue, 'Toilet - Ek Prem Katha', also starring Kumar, it moves ahead without hitting a bump. Of course, there are sequences that are sometimes cringe-worthy and sometimes impossible, but director Balki has evidently taken a lot of cinematic liberty, which is mandatory for a film that captures the entire essence of a social predicament such as this. The fact that Padman is based on the real-life story of the Indian inventor, Arunachalam Muruganantham, would make the viewer more confident and supportive of the structure. It's well-written, has good amounts of humour and drama, if not melodrama, and hits the right notes with its messages. With a score that supports the inspirational message, Padman must be viewed on the big screen and be marketed through word of mouth as it demands greater viewership.

Akshay Kumar is phenomenal and looks like he came directly out of the aforementioned film's sets. He carries the whole film on his shoulders and never once shows an inkling of restfulness. If there is a character that I feel an actor has done complete justice to in any film in the past few months, it'd be that of Lakshmi. Equally enchanting is the supremely talented Radhika Apte's performance who seems to be made just for the role of the village wife, something that we previously saw her do in Kabali (2016), and Parched (2015) and Manjhi: The Mountain Man (2015) before that. There's not a single dull moment in Padman, thanks to the performances of the lad and the supporting cast. Sonam Kapoor and Amitabh Bachchan grace the screen for some time and do a decent job, but it is the supporting actors that make the whole broth tastier.

Similar to how we last saw in R S Prasanna's Shubh Mangal Savdhan (2017), another highlight of Padman is in its dialogues and general writing. Talking about a touchy subject like menstruation is already an exercise, but to make an entire feature film about it, without hitting the awkward and/or obscene point even once, is something of a marvel. Director-writer Balki and co-writer Swanand Kirkire need to be appreciated for the sensitivity that is visible throughout the film, which could have been turned into a vulgar mess had it been executed by some of the more energetic yesteryear Bollywood filmmakers. Padman excels for a lot of reasons, but tailoring it for a conservative audience is one of the major ones.

Padman is refreshing because it serves several things on a single plate and yet manages to not overload it. Lakshmi's relentless attitude towards innovation makes this film much more than something about a social cause. Although India is known as the innovators' world, we hardly see such immaculate representation of the same on the silver screen. I don't care much more for the promotional angle of this film, courtesy the current ruling government in India, but as something that is important to mankind, Padman does deserve applause for its pure concoction and filmmaking brilliance. There couldn't be a better time to release this film that even has shades of chivalry (which, spare me the rolling eye, is no longer dead), feminism, and women empowerment. Lakshmi's dream must have taken him to a lot of places, but his underlying thought to not commercialize his invention and instead work for the greater good is something that makes Padman much more effective and deserving of attention.

There's a good chance that if one can relate to the subject, tears are going to make a guest appearance at least once in the 140-minute running time. But, even if that does not happen, it will touch your heart through its warm characterization, entrepreneurship, and the sheer ability to pump your beat up. Padman is perhaps R Balki's best film so far, something that I would even go as far as to list in Kumar's filmography as well. TN.

R. Balki cooked this dish with his own recipe alongside Swanand Kirkire, adding multiple flavors handpicked from Balki's arsenal of trademark templates. PC Sreeram's cinematography is god level for it does not have any kind of cutting edge CGI in it but has simple and subtle colours and excellent frames. The costumes, the art-work, and editing are definitely added assets to the film. Amit Trivedi's score is lively and suits Balki's taste perfectly. Of course, Akshay Kumar and Radhika Apte performed really well but the best surprise for me was Sonam's character in this film. Really had a touching moment at the very end. On a whole, its educating and entertaining.

Such a rare Film ever.... Great Job by @AkshayKumar @SonamKapoor @Rbalki !

"Padman," tells an important story in an engaging and entertaining way. I enjoyed this movie overall and really enjoyed Akshay Kumar's lead performance. His character is very likable has he only has the purest intentions to something good for society. The story was inspirational and pretty well put together. I do feel that the first half of the movie dragged mostly because it became pretty repetitive and it probably could have been cut a bit shorter. The movie does bounce back with a fast-paced and resonant second half that makes the movie worthwhile. It's a good movie with a strong message and a good heart that I enjoyed.

Akshay is improving himself day by day... A very good motivational movie.You should watch.

I wish more such movies are made in Bollywood. Akshay Kumar astounds me with his knack of finding good stories and bringing them in the limelight. India needs to hear more stories like Arunachalam Muruganantham's. The man sacrificed his pride, his reputation, and his family even, to protect his wife and sisters from diseases. In turn, he created a revolution, protecting many other women's health and financial security.

The story begins as an introduction to the family life of Lakshmikant Chauhan (based on Muruganantham) and the audience gets to know how he finds ways to help his family with their daily chores. Soon he realizes the problems his wife and sisters have to go through during their periods. To ensure their safety, he tries to make affordable pads that would help them live their lives better, but he runs into many hurdles over time.

His first proper backing comes from Pari Walia, who steers him through these hurdles and pushes him to greater heights, ultimately helping him realize his dreams.

I liked all three main actors. Akshay Kumar was fantastic and his performance as Lakshmikant Chauhan was very heart-warming. His Linglish (Lakshmi-English) was adorable and his speech at the UN was beautiful. Radhika Apte, as usual, breathes life into her character though I would have wanted to see more of her in the movie. Sonam Kapoor surprised me with her turn here. I used to have a bias against her but now I can see she has gotten much better in her craft and she was convincing as Pari Walia, the angel in Chauhan's life.

I didn't quite like the feelings bit between Pari and Chauhan and would have liked that relationship to have remained pure and unlaced with any other feeling, but I guess this is a necessary evil with films.

I enjoyed the rest of the story and honestly, the real life story of Muruganantham fascinated me. Many thanks to R. Balki and Akshay Kumar for bringing a story like this to the forefront.

With such important subjects each time Akshay Kumar is trying to be a socially committed actor but most of them always stay short of being really effective. Here also the subject is important in the bigoted Indian society but the execution is just ok. The film lacks proper focus and the issue is still not addressed properly keeping it taboo and only reachable to an extent. The narrative is not at all consistent and the first half drags so much without making any point. But the subject and its reality are so powerful that when the film works it hits them hard. How the society reacts at each point just makes me ashamed of my country and even though I haven't directly seen such situations or people I can't deny the probability of such occurrences. Even though the subject is kind of approached superficially the importance and social effect of the film that can be felt through some of the moments in the film make it worth it.

I watched it on Friday, definitely it is wonderful movie.

The movie is good as the movie is basically made with social message in mind. As far as the movie changes stereotypes and changes in even a small way the thinking of society the effort needs to be appreciated. Hats off for acting and direction. i had fun watching the movie.

Akshay Kumar's acting is great oh boy the casting was soo good and the story was original and shoutout to the team who decided to make this a film and show that a country is strong when the country's women are safe and strong such a great message and an inspiration.

There is a dialogue in the movie - "If you are not facing problem, you are not living your life properly". India is a huge country with diverse culture, religion and faith with its own issue and circumstances. But does all the belief and faith hold the right message ? Padman explores that ..

Padman, based on one of the short story "The Sanitary Man of Sacred Land" written by Twinkle Khanna, tells the extraordinary story of an ordinary man , Lakshmi Prasad (Akshay Kumar), who changed the life of rural women in India by devising low-cost machine to build sanitary pads.

Directed by R.Balki, who gave us some critically acclaimed films like Cheeni Kum and Paa, Padman is a bold step to explore the subject of menstruation and sanitary pads which is considered taboo in India. The film starts of very well with few scenes bringing smile on your face - Lakshmi Prasad buying the pads for his wife first time from a local medical shop, Lakshmi saving the life of his fellow-worker at the factory and even when he is trying to build the pads by using the cotton and leaves. The passion and determination of Lakshmi to know how the pad works and trying to make his wife and sisters use it will keep you glued to the screen. While the first half boast of some great scenes, the second half is a roller-coaster ride which stumbles down but picks up later in the climax. There are various reasons - the romance between Sonam Kapoor and Akshay Kumar is half-baked and out of place, the weird of Sonam Kapoor is itself does not make much impact, the lengthy pace and few unwanted scenes. Even the songs by Amit Trivedi is disappointing as none of it has chartburster touch (coming as a surprise from such a talented musician). Despite these hiccups, the impact of movie overall is a good as it helps to understand the pain what women goes through during those five days of period, especially a learning lesson for men. Though, it is okay to talk about it in Urban India, the subject is extremely sensitive in the rural India even though we are living in 21st Century.

The screenplay is decent while editing is good, though trimming of few scenes and songs could have helped. Art direction is splendid while Cinematography is outstanding capturing the beautiful locations in Madhya Pradesh. Padman belongs to one and the only Akshay Kumar. The actor is just challenging himself to do good films on social cause and entertaining us with his superb performance. Though, he went overboard during one of the scene when he introduces his invention at the National Innovation Foundation conference, he will win your heart with a staggering speech at the United Nation ceremony, New York. Radhika Apte gives adequate support to her role. Sonam Kapoor, as usual, over-acted and does not justice to her character at all. I wish, the makers could have taken someone better.

Padman is a refreshing journey of Arunachalam Muruganantham which should be lauded for its boldness and message for a cause. Good 3/5

Menstrual hygiene wasn't introduced in India until later in the 21st century, a social activist from South India introduces a tool to prevent from menstrual bleeding. So basically this film focuses on the aspect of menstrual hygiene in India.

So a welder named Lakshmikant Chauhan based in a village in the rural of East India gets married and lives a blissful life until he notices the women in his village are suffering periods even in his family. Due to the lack of affordability for those sanitary pads, Lakshmi decides to change that by producing napkin pads but his idea leaves the villagers in doubt and gives them the feeling of embarrassment and shame. How Lakshmi changes that is basically what this film is about?

Superman, Batman, Spiderman, and now Padman. R. Balki introudces a very straight on point script with deals with subjective matters of menstrual hygiene. This kind of hygiene is very essential for women across India which does have a very high poverty rate. Balki successfully shows the empowering factors of sanitary pads in such a way that managed to keep the audience engaged throughout those 140 minutes of the film.

As far as performances go, Akshay Kumar literally nails it as Lakshmi. Luckily since Airlift, he has been upping his game especially in this film. His motives on menstrual hygiene was simply outstanding and that village mentality of a dropout as surprisngly something only Kumar can pull.

Radhika Apte plays Gayatri, Lakshmi's wife who is against her husband's decision. She was great and simple but some dialgoues implemented by her were a bit off and it didn't comply too much to her character even as a villager.

Sonam Kapoor was outstanding in Neerja but this film, it gave the audience the feeling especially me that she went on set just to earn a big quick big.

Big B's appearance was quite a surprise.

Direction was quite weak and this is something very common in R.Balki's films. He is very known for adding too mnay close up shots in 80% of the scenes and zooming too much will just cover up the background.

Also there was a minor issue, it is okay to put comedy and drama which were both there but the script itself was a bit too factual. it is understandable that menstrual hygiene is a concept but putting too many of those elements will probably escalate the boredom in some scenes.

Amit Trivedi's album is surely a winner and Mika Singh's take on the title song is simply a treat to devour for the next 4 minutes and Aaj Se Teri sung by Arijit Singh will put you in a romantic mood.

Overall, 2018 is improving quite well at the start and this film will be counted in my top 10 best films of 2018. Nicely written backed up by a narrative concept also backed by powerful performances. But the direction of the film does dissappoint quite alot with the close ups but this is a perfect film.

3.75/5 - R. Balki's most perfect film after Paa

I admit that the concept is innovative...but the execution is mediocre; and on the top of that comes over - "Indianization" which makes you really wonder whether this is actually a movie based on a 21st century incident...This movie should have been released in Doordarshan first, because rural people must see this movie first...

Positives: -

(1) Akshay Kumar's natural acting (2) Beautiful songs like Aaj Se Teri (3) Occasional humour and satires

Negatives: -

(1) First half of the movie (2) Unnecessary love plot

Padman is definitely not a superhero, but he'll make you laugh at times and compel you to be more conscious about a woman's health and hygiene...

MY RATING: -

Direction: 3.5 out of 5 Dialogues: 3 out of 5 Screenplay: 3.5 out of 5 Music:: 3 out of 5 Visual appeal: 3 out of 5

Thanks to Akshay kumar for saying yes for a movie on this subject. It got all the attention because of Akshay kumar.

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