Bollywood superstar Akshay Kumar urged all to break taboos surrounding menstruation, on the occasion of World Menstrual Hygiene Day on Friday. Akshay cited his 2018 release "Pad Man" to highlight the issue. The R. Balki film was inspired by the life of Arunachalam Muruganantham, a smalltown entrepreneur from Tamil Nadu who invented low-cost sanitary napkins to generate awareness in rural areas. The film also stars Radhika Apte and Sonam Kapoor in key roles.

"Today is World Menstrual Hygiene day. Doing #Padman in 2018 opened my eyes to what women go through because of stigma and lack of basic sanitary facilities. Thankfully things are improving by the year. @mrsfunnybones and I will forever stay with the cause. #BreakTheTaboo," Akshay wrote on Twitter, tagging wife Twinkle Khanna who tweets as @mrsfunnybones and who is one of the producers of the 2018 film.