Toilet: Ek Prem Katha has already won critical and commercial acclaim for its subject, but praises do not come as big as this. Microsoft co-founder, Bill Gates, lauded the film and marked it out as one of the top 3 moments of his year in 2017. One of the richest men in the world, Gates praised the film for educating audiences about India's sanitation challenge.
Listing a top 10 of his favourite moments of the year, Gates marked Shree Narayan Singh's film on the 3rd spot. Writing on his Twitter, Gates said, "1/ There’s no denying that 2017 was a really tough year... but it also delivered some amazing moments of hope and progress. Here are some inspiring tweets that you may have missed…."
The film recently won the Extraordinary Impact award at the recently concluded Zee Cine Awards on Tuesday, 19 December. The film portrayed the struggle for building toilets for women and the cultural and social taboo revolving it. Starring Akshay Kumar and Bhumi Pednekar, it earned praise for its sensitive education on the social evil that prevails across a majority of the country.
Bill Gates, through his foundation, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (also known as the Gates Foundation), has been working towards improving sanitation and hygiene through various projects across the world. The foundation is the largest private foundation in the United States of America, and is also involved in projects to improve healthcare, sanitation, and education opportunities across the world.
The praise for his film with a social message should only encourage Akshay who is all set to appear in R Balki's Padman, which deals with another regressive taboo about female hygiene — menstruation.
Padman is set to be released on 26 January 2018.