Twinkle And Akshay Kumar

A NEW YEAR OFTEN BEGINS WITH ‘IT’ RESOLUTIONS. BUT THIS NEW YEAR, WE HAVE A WINSOME POWER COUPLE TRIGGERING A REVOLUTION! JUST THE TRAILER OF THEIR BOLD MOVIE, PADMAN, GARNERED 20 MILLION VIEWS IN 48 HOURS. FROM THE LACK OF TOILETS TO THE SHAMING OF WOMEN GOING THROUGH NATURAL CYCLES – OUR CINEMA IS FINALLY SPEAKING OF – AND TO – THE REAL INDIA. HELLO! BRINGS YOU UPCLOSE WITH THE COUPLE WHO ONCE STOOD AT DIVERSE PROFESSIONAL POSITIONS, BUT WITH PADMAN, OPEN A NEW CHAPTER IN THEIR COUPLEHOOD

 “Be careful, he will sue you for sexual harrasment,” quips a poker-faced Twinkle as our stylist tweaks Akshay’s collar, opening it out a wee bit. Akshay shows no reaction. No laugh, no smile. “Did you hear what your wife just said?” we ask, and she assures us,

“He has heard every word. He doesn’t react to my provocative remarks because he is so used to me,” she shares, proceeding to open another button and slide her hand over his taut chest, ‘hotting’ up the shot.

Watching this shape-shifting couple take centrestage in front of our lensperson, is like watching a perfectly synchronised waltz. They hear each other without uttering a word. What a compelling dynamic for a film producer wife and actor spouse. To top that, their movie PadMan has been taking shape in a cine era marked by intelligent and sensitive blockbusters. Akshay’s previous caper, Toilet: Ek Prem Katha – grossed 50 crores at the box office on its first weekend post release. And what was it about? Rising above cultural taboos against home toilets in rural India, where squatting by and polluting rivers had greater social and scriptural sanction.

PadMan is a bold rebuttal to the global issue of hiding menstrual-related issues and how they impact female lives. Twinkle has stated in a highly vocal interview on the BBC, that “In India, 20 per cent of girls drop out of school in rural India, due to a lack of affordable sanitary napkins. But let me warn you, it’s a global issue. A survey done by Leeds University in London, showed a similar statistic of young girls going missing from school in rural England, and for the same reason.”