Partners in India: The superhero who changed India's 600 million women

Ericka 2022-04-05 08:01:01

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There are many superheroes in America, Batman, Iron Man, Spiderman, in India there is a superhero called Padman.

It may seem a little funny to see Padman, but it's a true story.

Arunachalam, an Indian man, launched a sanitary napkin revolution for his love. He was the first man in the world to use sanitary napkins, and is known as the "father of sanitary napkins" in India.

The movie "The Padman" based on his story was translated into "The Indian Partner" after being introduced into China. Indeed, this name is more attractive to Chinese audiences than "The Padman", because it can evoke everyone to watch "The Chinese Partner". ", although it bears no resemblance to "Partners in China".

"Partners in India" is starred by "Toilet Hero" Akshay Kumar as the male protagonist. This Indian man, after the toilet revolution, once again became a hero who changed the fate of Indian women.

At the beginning of the movie, the male protagonist Lakshmi and his wife Gaitli have just got married. So Gaitli's menstruation caught Lakshmi's attention.

Only then did he discover that Indian women would be banned for five days before their menstrual period, using dirty cloths to stop the bleeding, and not being able to do anything. As a result, female students could not go to school, or even drop out. This not only brought trouble to their lives, but also brought harm to their health.

At that time, the price of sanitary napkins in India was so high that ordinary families could not afford to consume them. For the health, freedom and dignity of his beloved wife, Lakshmi was determined to make sanitary napkins by himself.

In Indian tradition, women's menstruation is seen as something ominous and shamed to talk about. Therefore, Lakshmi, who wanted to make sanitary pads, was considered by the villagers as a lunatic and perverted, and his wife did not understand him. She said, "For me, shame is the biggest disease." Then she went back to her mother's house crying.

Lakshmi, who had no place to live in the village, left his hometown and went to the big city to find a way to make sanitary pads.

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As an inspirational comedy romance film, Lakshmi must have been a success in the end. He has solved menstrual problems for 600 million women in India. This film also caused a huge social topic because it first focused on women's physiological problems. The Indian government also cancelled the sanitary napkin tariff on July 21, 2018 because of this film.

Why did Lakshmi succeed? How did a rural-born repairman who dropped out of junior high school become a superhero for the benefit of 600 million women in India?

The first is because of his rational thinking and perseverance.

He does repair work and is accustomed to considering the principle and essence of things, the trick of the monkey god on the street, he understands the working principle at a glance, and is secretly proud of "I can do this too".

The university professor made him watch videos of the workflow of a machine worth tens of millions of yuan, insulting him and trying to make him give up. He did not retreat in the face of humiliation, but instead saw clearly the working principle of this huge machine, which was nothing more than four steps. He knew that his purpose was to create sanitary napkins, and the means didn't need to be fancy, just any tool.

The four processes of making sanitary napkins by machine are:

Fiber breaks down, and he thinks of the mixer his wife uses when she cooks;

During the compression process, he thought of the scene where his wife rolled the dough with a rolling pin;

Packaging, he thought of his wife wrapping the prepared food in leaves;

Ultraviolet disinfection, he thought of his wife drying food in the sun.

He transformed the things that could be seen everywhere around him step by step, and turned it into a sanitary napkin making machine that only cost 90,000 yuan, which is not inferior to the tens of millions of dollars made in the United States.

The process of Lakshmi making the machine reminded me of a story circulating on the Internet, saying that Unilever introduced a soap packaging production line, but there was a defect, some boxes were packed and shipped without soap. . In order to solve this problem, the company hired an automation doctor to design the scheme, spent a lot of money, and finally built a device that successfully solved the problem: as long as there is an empty box, the device will sound an alarm, and the workers will receive a signal , take the empty box away.

For another township enterprise that faced the same problem, their solution was simple: put a fan with strong wind at the end of the assembly line, and the empty box would be blown away as soon as it came over.

Like the heads of township enterprises, Lakshmi used his own simple feelings and judgments to discover unexpected functions in obvious tools or means, thus making them unique and emerging.

(Lakshmi and Pari advocate for female students to use sanitary pads at school)

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In addition to Lakshmi's own efforts, his success was due to the fact that he met Pari, his guide, mentor, and soulmate. The Chinese translation of "Indian Partner" is also related to the role of Pali.

Pari is a completely different modern woman from Gaitli. She was born into a wealthy, enlightened, and loving family. Her high education and rich experience also allow her to accept Lakshmi's weird behavior.

By chance, Pari became his first user using a sanitary napkin made by Lakshmi. Also because of Pari, Lakshmi took the machine to the invention contest and won the first prize.

Moved by Lakshmi's innocent heart and chivalrous heart to save Indian women, Pari resolutely gave up her high-paying job and went to the countryside to promote sanitary napkins with him.

She went door to door and knocked on the door of every peasant woman, guiding them to use sanitary pads of good quality and low price. The two traveled all over rural India together, bringing the Gospel to women. Teaching them how to make sanitary napkins not only solved their health problems, but also solved their employment problems and improved the status of rural women.

As Lakshmi said when he was invited to speak at the United Nations, "The powerful and strong will not make the country strong. The country will only become strong when women are strong, mothers are strong, and sisters are strong." Lakshmi because Pari's strength makes him stronger.

It was such an angelic woman who retired after finishing everything and let Lakshmi go back to his wife.

(The two traveled all over rural India)

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Many netizens were puzzled by Lakshmi's final choice and felt that Pari was the true partner for him.

I also feel very sorry, just like when I watched "La La Land" and found that the male and female protagonists did not get together.

But Lakshmi's return to his wife was a choice in line with his values. His wife Gaitli is the reason and motivation for him to do all of this. It is true that he fell in love with Pari later, and after so many experiences with the two of them, he couldn't help but fall in love with her, but if he abandoned his wife, it would go against his original intention of doing all this.

As one critic put it, "The really satisfying ending isn't a perfunctory reunion, it's an unspoken one."

For Lakshmi, Pari is not only a former partner, not only a brand of sanitary napkins, but also a cinnabar mole in his heart and an eternal moonlight. Walking in the world with the regret of "the world's safety and security" can make him more down-to-earth.

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Extended Reading
  • Jasmin 2022-04-05 09:01:08

    After helping the girl repair the toilet, she started making sanitary napkins. The male protagonist said it very well: "If a man is strong, the country will not be strong; only if the woman is strong, the mother is strong, and the child is strong, the country is really strong." Chinese filmmakers should really learn from their Indian counterparts. Films about the society come out. PS: The male protagonist has returned to the family, but I think he and the female second are really in harmony with each other. This is politically correct, which is a pity.

  • Nicolas 2022-04-12 09:01:10

    I believe that many people are like me, very disappointed with the ending! Parry is so good, the three perspectives and souls fit together, but he returns to his wife. Why! The concept of the same will not be happy!

Pad Man quotes

  • Lakshmikant Chauhan: Bloody men... half hour... half hour bleeding like women... they straight dying!

  • Lakshmikant Chauhan: You thinking I mad. But mad only becoming famous!