Padman box office collection: Akshay Kumar starrer earns promising Rs 10.26 crore on opening day

Padman took a subject that most Indians are reluctant to talk about — menstruation — and put it on the marquee. And going by its opening day box office collection, it sure looks like plenty of people have warmed up to it. The R Balki film starring Akshay Kumar garnered Rs 10.26 crore on the first day of its release and its performance is only expected to get better over the weekend, according to trade analyst Taran Adarsh. [caption id=“attachment_4286643” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] Still from Padman song ‘Hu Ba Hu’. YouTube screengrab[/caption] Padman is based on the life of Arunachalam Muruganantham, a school drop-out who invented a machine to manufacture sanitary pads at a fraction of the cost of branded ones. This allowed thousands of women in rural India, where menstrual hygiene is abysmally low, access to a safe and healthy option. But the film is set in Madhya Pradesh to appeal to a Hindi-speaking audience with Akshay Kumar in the lead.

#PadMan has a DECENT start... Fri ₹ 10.26 cr... The biz, expectedly, picked up towards evening/night shows... The journey ahead is crucial... Sat + Sun should witness strong growth for a good weekend total... India biz.

— taran adarsh (@taran_adarsh) February 10, 2018

The film had generated plenty of buzz ahead of its release on Friday, thanks in part to the #PadManChallenge that took the social media by storm. Holding a sanitary napkin high with her hands in a photo, the film’s producer Twinkle Khanna had tweeted: “Yes, that’s a pad in my hand and there’s nothing to be ashamed about. It’s natural! Period. #PadManChallenge. Copy, paste this and challenge your friends to take a photo with a pad! Here I am challenging Aamir Khan, Shabana Azmi, Harsh Goenka.” They obliged. Soon, the digital platforms was flooded with photographs featuring Bollywood celebrities, sports personalities and other netizens. With inputs from agencies