Republic Day 2019: Toilet: Ek Prem Katha to Sui Dhaaga; films that made us aware of our social responsibility

As we are days away from celebrating Republic Day 2019, no one celebrates it more than Bollywood and its masala movies. Amidst the glitz and glamour of commercial cinema, there are movies based on social issues which spread the message across to crores of Indian citizens. Whether they inspire you to work towards the issue at hand or not is up to each individual, but it does the job of raising awareness on the topic that one would usually shy away from.

In recent years, this 'tag' has been taken over by Akshay Kumar who makes it his motto to give us films that talk about social issues more openly and freely without it being ridiculed. We saw it in PadMan (2018) which spoke about menstrual hygiene as well as Toilet: Ek Prem Katha (2017) which tackled eradication of open defecation in rural India. Then, we also had Sui Dhaaga: Made in India (2018) starring Varun Dhawan and Anushka Sharma, which looked into the Make in India initiative.

As we inch closer to Republic Day, let's celebrate the occasion by listing down five films that made us aware of our social responsibilities:

Aarakshan (2011)

This Amitabh Bachchan, Saif Ali Khan and Deepika Padukone starrer talks about the politics behind the caste-based reservations which are applicable in government jobs and educational institutes.

Newton (2017)

Rajkummar Rao stars in this drama which shows a government employee who tries to hold a fair election in a Naxal-controlled town and sheds light on the voting system of our nation.

Toilet: Ek Prem Katha (2017)

Starring Akshay Kumar and Bhumi Pednekar, the film is a satire on the sanitation conditions in the rural areas and promptly promotes the eradication of open defecation in the nation.

PadMan (2018)

Akshay Kumar's brave attempt to tell the story of Arunachalam Muruganantham, the inventor of low-cost sanitary napkins for women from the rural areas sheds light on menstruation and is a welcome change. 

Sui Dhaaga: Made in India (2018)

Varun Dhawan and Anushka Sharma play a small-town couple with big entrepreneurial dreams and weave a beautiful tale while promoting the Make in India initiative. 

Which is your favourite movie from this list? Let us know your views in the comments section below.