Now, a short film on menstruation

Director Aban Bharucha Deohans is glad that Akshay Kumar's Pad Man has opened the discussion around menstruation - a topic that was unfortunately taboo in India. Deohans has trained the spotlight on the adversities women face in villages with regard to personal hygiene, in her short film Collateral Damage.

The idea germinated when she read an article about the difficulties women in rural areas face during their menses. "The article mentioned gavkars, a temporary place for women to stay in, when they are menstruating. A gavkar is nothing but a cowshed," says Deohans. Featuring Girish Kumar and child artiste Syna Anand, the short follows Anand's character who is locked up in a gavkar and has to face the wrath of villagers when she revolts. "I wanted my film to have shock value," says Deohans, whose last offering, Teaspoon (2015), won several awards.

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