Akshay Kumar's movie PadMan is set to release this Friday, and his really unique and fun promotion strategy has been taking over social media by storm. With the message that there is no shame in a sanitary pad, to hold it up and that it is - and should be - perfectly normal to talk about periods, the Bollywood brigade has been holding up sanitary napkins and sharing photos of themselves on social media, urging others to do the same too. And looks like the trick is working, what with celebrities such as Deepika Padukone, Anushka Sharma, Alia Bhatt and Aamir Khan, among others, having already shared photographs of themselves with pads. Joining in on the wave are their fans, followers and those who believe the stigma associated with talking about menstruation need to go. Kumar's movie is a biopic on Arunachalam Muruganantham, the man who made indigenous sanitary pads accessible to women in rural parts. But this is not the first time Kumar has done a movie with a social message. In fact, it seems to be a trend with him of late. The Khiladi's previous film Toilet: Ek Prem Katha also gave a strong message about problems faced due to open defecation and the need to improve personal hygiene. The film also made it to Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates' best of 2017 list. Not just celebrities, even the commoners are also posting their pictures on social media with hashtag #PadManChallenge. Check out the pictures here. Thank you @mrsfunnybones 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 @SrBachchan , @iamsrk & @BeingSalmanKhanpic.twitter.com/lY7DEevDmD — Aamir Khan (@aamir_khan) February 2, 2018 Just hanging around in the gym.. with a pad :) no biggie! Thank you @akshaykumar for the challenge.. I shall challenge my fellow gym-ers @YasminBodyImage @Sophie_Choudry & @impoornapatel #PadManChallenge pic.twitter.com/xHLaSwt39Q — Alia Bhatt (@aliaa08) February 2, 2018 I accept this challenge @radhika_apte. And now I nominate @psbhumi @sanyamalhotra07 and @RajkummarRao for the #PadManChallenge ✌Go for it guys! pic.twitter.com/RWinMmB9uh — Ayushmann Khurrana (@ayushmannk) February 3, 2018 With thousands of people joining in the challenge, here are a few pictures of them hopefully helping to remove the stigma around periods because, after all, it's a natural biological process that we should just accept. Do you think the #PadManChallenge will help take the discussion on menstruation forward? Tell us in the comments below.
