Akshay Kumar Was Not The First Choice For 'Padman': Twinkle Khanna
Twinkle Khanna, one of the producers of Padman, said her actor-husband Akshay Kumar was not the first choice to play Arunachalam Muruganantham in the film.
Twinkle
Khanna,
one
of
the
producers
of
Padman,
said
her
actor-husband
Akshay
Kumar
was
not
the
first
choice
to
play
Arunachalam
Muruganantham
in
the
film.
Directed
by
R
Balki,
"Padman" revolves
around
Muruganantham,
a
social
activist
from
Tamil
Nadu,
who
revolutionised
the
concept
of
menstrual
hygiene
in
rural
India
by
creating
a
low-cost
sanitary
napkin
machine.
When
asked
if
Akshay
was
her
first
choice,
Twinkle,
said,
"No.
R
Balki
convinced
me
that
Akshay
should
do
this
part."
When
prodded
further
as
to
who
she
thought
could
have
played
the
role
when
the
film
was
being
conceptualised,
Twinkle
quipped,
"Are
you
trying
to
create
trouble
in
my
marriage
now?"
Akshay
joked,
"You
already
said
that
now
(I
was
not
your
first
choice
for
the
film),
there
is
already
a
problem."
Twinkle
said
she
had
some
names
in
her
mind
but
realised
Akshay
would
be
perfect
for
the
role.
"The
thing
is,
if
we
had
somebody
who
the
Indian
public
idolises
and
men
look
upto
and
he
who
could
wear
a
sanitary
pad,
I
think
(it
is)
Akshay.
"I
think
what
Balki
has
made
Akshay
do,
and
of
course
Akshay
is
very
talented,
I
don't
think
anyone
could
have
played
it
better
than
him."
She
was
talking
at
the
song
launch
event
of
'Aaj
Se
Teri' from
"Padman".
Twinkle
said
she
approached
Balki
because
she
admires
the
fact
that
he
gives
prominence
to
female
voices
in
his
movies.
"Once
I
came
across
the
story
of
Muruganantham
I
felt
it
has
to
reach
across
states,
borders,
religions...and
there
are
only
two
things
that
work
in
this
country
-
cricket
and
cinema.
"Our
cricketers
have
their
own
pads
and
they
are
busy
with
that.
So
we
needed
cinema
to
tell
this
story,
I
just
had
his
(Balki)
name
on
my
mind.
I
have
seen
his
films
and
have
liked
it.
He
is
a
sensitive
filmmaker,
he
understands
women
partly
because
of
his
wife
Gauri
Shinde,
she
is
a
good
influence
on
him,"
Twinkle
said.
The
film,
which
also
stars
Radhika
Apte
and
Sonam
Kapoor
in
key
roles,
is
set
for
January
26
release.