Balki : “No GST For Sanitary Pads Is Encouraging News,”

Filmmaker R Balki who made a  film on the prohibitive  pricing of sanitary napkins which  prevents  the economically weak sections of women from  using them, is happy to hear  that the Government has decided to do away with the GST  for sanitary pads.

“It is a victory for  people like Arunachalam Muruganantham(on whose life the film Padman is  based) who  has dedicated his  life to female  hygiene and  its subversion for economic reasons. He is  the happiest person today. As for  me, I am grateful if Padman helped carry the movement forward. When we  made Padman we wanted  to start adialogue on the sanitary pad and female hygiene. The  film succeeded in doing that. All of us in the Padman team are grateful for the opportunity to use cinema as a tool for something  more than entertainment,” says Balki .

Balki feels Padman has  started  a debate. “Men are no longer shy of addressing  the issue of the PMS. I am not saying our film has broken the taboo . But  at least we put that masculine  awkwardness  out there  and tackled  it.”

Balki’s next film would also address an  important  issue.

“I can’t make  a film that is  purely entertainment,” he confesses.