Sonam Kapoor Reveals She Was Told To Stay Out Of Temple, Kitchen On Period

New Delhi: Actress Sonam Kapoor says she was 'shocked' by the ignorance and taboos that still cloak the subject of menstrual hygiene, revealing that prohibitions were applied within her own family as well. Sonam's work-in-progress film Padman tells the story of A Murugunantham, inventor of a machine that would cheaply manufacture sanitary napkins. Not everyone would consider this film-worthy, Sonam told news agency PTI, adding that urban women are more open to publicly discussing menstruation. "Menstrual hygiene is an issue, which not many people would think can be a good subject for a film. For city girls it is normal, but when we were shooting in Maheshwar and around, the ignorance I saw was shocking," Sonam said, reports PTI.

The actress drew on her own experience of being told to stay out of certain places while on her period. "Even with us, we remember our grandmother asking do not go to the temple, or in the kitchen or don't go close to the pickles. As city girls we get to hear all of that so just imagine what girls in smaller villages are going through," Sonam Kapoor told PTI.

This sort of "backward thinking" is the focus of Padman, which co-stars Akshay Kumar and Radhika Apte. It features a special appearance by Amitabh Bachchan and is expected in theatres on January 26. The film is written and produced by Akshay's wife Twinkle Khanna and directed by R Balki. 

Sonam Kapoor says films and marquee names help highlight social themes. "Cinema is the largest medium. It reaches out to a larger audience. Especially, if you have mainstream stars attached to such films, it works. For a film like Munnabhai or PK, if they have big names attached to them, and the issues are pertinent, it makes a big difference," she told PTI.

PTI said it spoke to Sonam Kapoor on the sidelines of the Blenders Pride Fashion Tour, where she walked the ramp for designer Tarun Tahiliani. 

(With inputs from PTI)