Menstrual Man

Menstrual Man is a 2013 documentary film by Amit Virmani. The film tells the story of Arunachalam Muruganantham, an Indian social entrepreneur and inventor whose machines enable rural women to manufacture lowcost sanitary pads for their communities. It premiered at the 2013 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, and was voted a Top Ten Audience Favourite at both Hot Docs and IDFA the same year. The film was nominated for Best Feature Documentary at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards.

Menstrual Man received positive reviews. Writing in NOW, Canadian feminist author and activist Susan G. Cole noted the smart filmmaking behind the film, adding it makes perfect sense by the end, when youve come to realize Muruganantham and the male educators he worked with are honorary feminists. John Lui from The Straits Times gave the film fourandahalf stars, noting that the film avoids being all pofaced liberalguilt seriousness with its use of vintage Bollywood clips and thanks to its charismatic protagonist. PBS POV columnist Tom Roston called the film his greatest discovery at the 2013 Hot Docs festival, describing the film as an engaging, funny, heartbreaking story of the power of what one ordinary man can achieve. However, he felt that the title would discourage audiences from watching the film and that Virmanis refusal to change its title could inhibit the films success. Virmani defended his decision, stating that people being ashamed to talk about menstruation was a big part of the problem of womens hygiene in rural India. If I changed the title because educated people might not watch the film, then Im a hypocrite. I become part of the problem.

Source: Wikipedia