With its recent release on DVD, the 2018 Indian biographical drama film "Pad Man" will shortly be added to otsoNY, and though the majority of the film was shot in a small town beside Narmada river named, Maheshwar in Madhya Pradesh, it does contain some scenes in New York City, and has become only the second Bollywood production to be granted access to shoot the film inside the headquarters of the United Nations, after "Half Girlfriend" in 2016, while Hollywood film "The Interpreter" was the first.

Directed and written by R. Balki it features Akshay Kumar, Sonam Kapoor and Radhika Apte in lead roles, and is based on the short story "The Sanitary Man of Sacred Land" in Twinkle Khanna's book The Legend of Lakshmi Prasad, which is inspired by the life of Arunachalam Muruganantham, a social activist from Tamil Nadu who introduced low-cost sanitary pads.

The story starts with the marriage of Lakshmikant "Laxmi" Chauhan played by Akshay Kumar and Gayatri played by Radhika Apte. Laxmi is deeply in love with his wife and will do anything for her comfort and happiness. When Gayatri is temporarily banished from the household during her menstrual periods, Laxmi is caught unaware due to his lack of knowledge about the subject. He gets worried on seeing Gayatri using a dirty rag during her periods. Gayatri tells him he should not interfere in this feminine topic. Undeterred, Laxmi buys sanitary pads for his wife, which are rather costly. Gayatri tells him to return it, as using such costly napkins means cutting off milk expenses. Crestfallen, Laxmi goes to work, where a worker gets injured. He immediately applies a pad to the injury, despite the others referring to it as 'impure'. The doctor lauds Laxmi's quick thinking and says that it is the cleanest choice to stop bleeding. Excited, Laxmi buys some cotton, cloth, and glue and makes a temporary pad, which he thinks is a better replacement for the costly one.

Gayatri uses it but the pad fails in its function and she tells Laxmi to not interfere in women's matters again. Laxmi again tries to make a pad, and gives it to a female medical student, who decides to help him out but is deterred by her friends. To add to his woes, his meeting with the student makes his wife think that he has an affair. Laxmi tries to give his sister pads, which leads to embarrassment in front of her in-laws. Next, he tries it on himself by attaching a balloon filled with goat blood, which leads to him getting blood all over his trousers in public, resulting in humiliation. This act causes him to be branded 'a man with loose morals' by the entire village. Gayatri's brothers take her away and Laxmi decides to leave, pledging to fight the taboo surrounding menstruation.

Film: Pad Man

After learning that sanitary pads use the more absorbent cellulose fibre rather than cotton, Laxmi goes to a college to gain knowledge about the materials used in sanitary napkins. In need of money and shelter, he works as a manservant in a professor's house. The professor's son introduces him to the Internet and helps him get information. The professor is baffled by Laxmi's actions and shows him videos of pad-making machines worth millions to derail his ideas. It has the opposite effect: Laxmi is inspired by this to make his own pad-making machine. He borrows money and manages to make a good pad but has no one to test it. He ends up meeting Pari Walia played by Sonam Kapoor, a modern, educated woman from the city, and supplies a pad to her. When he asks for feedback, she says that it's like a normal pad. Laxmi's joy knows no bounds and he calls Gayatri to give her the news. Gayatri gets upset at his obsession with menstruation, and her brother warns him to stay away.

Film: Pad Man

Pari sees Laxmi's potential and invites him to an innovation fair in Delhi. Laxmi's invention is recognized as the 'Life-Changing Innovation of the Year' and he shoots to fame but the villagers, on realizing the nature of his invention, insult him. Pari helps a dejected Laxmi sell his pads to rural women, who later join him in his venture. Laxmi and Pari travel from village to village, making low-cost pad-manufacturing machines, creating small pad-making factories, and providing rural women both jobs and pads for sale. He is invited to New York and gives a speech at UNICEF. Back home, he is awarded the Padmashri. Pari falls in love with him, which makes Laxmi conflicted as he has feelings for her too. However, she steps back for his happiness, with Laxmi telling her she helped make him a new man. Laxmi returns to a hero's welcome in his village. The film ends with Laxmi and Gayatri finally uniting, and Laxmi finding continued success with his endeavors.

Sonam Kapoor

Sonam Kapoor, who was born on 9th June 1985, and is also known by her married name Sonam Kapoor Ahuja, is an Indian actress who appears in Bollywood films. Kapoor is one of the highest-paid actresses in the industry and is the recipient of several awards, including a Filmfare and a National Film Award.

Sonam Kapoor

The daughter of actor Anil Kapoor, Kapoor studied theatre and arts at the United World College of South East Asia in Singapore. She was an assistant director to Sanjay Leela Bhansali on the 2005 film Black. Kapoor made her acting debut in Bhansali's romantic drama Saawariya (2007), for which she was nominated for a Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut. She had her first commercial success three years later in the romantic comedy I Hate Luv Storys (2010).

After a series of commercial failures, the sleeper hit Raanjhanaa (2013) marked a turning point in her career, earning her Best Actress nominations. She then featured in the romantic comedies Khoobsurat (2014) and Dolly Ki Doli (2015), both of which earned her Filmfare Award for Best Actress nominations. Kapoor played a princess in the melodrama Prem Ratan Dhan Payo (2015), one of the highest-grossing Bollywood films, following which she starred in the biographical thriller Neerja (2016) and the female buddy film Veere Di Wedding (2018), both of which rank among the highest-grossing Hindi films featuring a female protagonist. For portraying the titular role in the former, she received the National Film Award – Special Mention and Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actress.

Sonam Kapoor

Kapoor supports the raising awareness of breast cancer and LGBT rights. She is married to the businessman Anand Ahuja. Known in the media for her outspoken personality, she is frequently credited as one of Bollywood's most fashionable celebrities. From 2012–2016, she appeared in Forbes India's Celebrity 100 based on her income and popularity.