Akshay wasn't first choice for Padman; R Balki convinced Twinkle about her husband

Akshay Kumar’s upcoming film Padman had his fans eagerly waiting ever since the trailer came out. And as the world is raving about his role in the film produced by Twinkle Khanna, Akshay wasn’t the first choice to play the role. The film was based on Arunachalam Muruganantham, who created low-cost sanitary pads and fought for menstrual hygiene. “R. Balki later convinced me that Akshay should play this part,” Twinkle says.

When further questioned about who was on her mind when conceptualising the character, she said, “Are you trying to make trouble in my marriage now?” On a more serious note, she said, “If we have somebody the Indian public idolises, and men look upto, we would need someone who is a gamechanger. After watching the film, I don’t think anybody could have played this as wonderfully as Akshay.”

Helmed by R. Balki, Padman also stars Sonam Kapoor and Radhika Apte in pivotal roles. Twinkle says, “We have spoken to various ministries and want to make sure school girls watch the film. We are hoping girls who can’t afford sanitary pads will tell their parents that they need sanitary pads because they need to go to schools.”