Pad Man

PAD MAN is socially relevant, but flawed!

Endorsing an extremely germane social message, PAD MAN surely has its heart at the right place. However, a lazy script and faulty execution, make the film more preachy than eye-opening. Nevertheless, despite all its flaws, Akshay Kumar’s ardent act makes the film a watchable affair. Good, but not great!

Pad Man is a biographical drama based on the life of the Tamil Nadu-based activist Arunachalam Muruganantham, who worked towards providing cost-effective and hygienic sanitary napkins to the women in the rural areas, and features Akshay Kumar playing the lead role while Radhika Apte plays the role of his wife.

While watching PAD MAN, you can’t help but draw several similarities of it with last year’s TOILET: EK PREM KATHA. Both are based on real people, both carry a social message, both profess women empowerment, and both of them star Akshay Kumar. Even the basic outline of the story is similar, where the husband fights for his wife who’s left him, and is hellbent on getting her back. Interestingly, even their flaws are mostly similar. Both have a promising subject at hand, but despite being a biographical account, they frequently drift into inexplicable fiction, and expose themselves to the usual Bollywood trappings.

Well, with Akshay Kumar as the lead actor, you do expect a commercially driven screenplay. But as an informed movie lover, you expect some genuineness in the proceedings, especially when it’s based on real incidents. Most incidents look fictional and the script has major gaps in terms of logic. Lazy writing results in several convenient coincidents, which somehow makes it lose realness. Having said that, the film never bores you. It is a tad long for sure, but it keeps you hooked for all of its duration. The songs are seamlessly woven in the screenplay and the overall setup of the film is authentic. And yes, PAD MAN’s climax speech at United Nations auditorium is definitely the highlight of the film.

Akshay Kumar yet again owns the film like a pro, and delivers an absolutely riveting performance. He always makes his films so much more appealing with his presence, and here again he’s the force that drives the film. His expressions exude the simplicity and untarnished goodness that the real character possesses. I wish his accent wasn’t as polished as it was, but that’s a minor flaw in a majorly entertaining act. Radhika Apte does her job well. Sonam Kapoor is passable. I must point out though, that her love interest with Akshay’s character in the film, is a tangent which was totally unwarranted. All others fit the bill appropriately.

To sum up then, PAD MAN has major shortcomings as a film, but with a golden message at its core, the film warrants at least one watch. I repeat, it’s good, but not great!