A co-production between India and the United States, it stars Akshay Kumar, Sonam Kapoor, and Radhika Apte in the lead roles with an ensemble supporting cast.

[1] The film is based on the life of Arunachalam Muruganantham, a social activist and entrepreneur from Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu who made low-cost sanitary pads for women in rural areas.

[2][3] The idea to adapt Murugan's life began in 2015 when Khanna, who served as a co-producer on the film, came across his story while doing a research for a column in The Times of India.

Muruganantham worked closely with R. Balki, Kumar and Khanna on set in India, making sure every detail was accurate from the way he built his machine, to how to operate it, even his own posture.

When Gayatri is temporarily banished from the household during her menstrual periods, Lakshmi is caught unaware due to his lack of knowledge about the subject.

Excited, Laxmi buys some cotton, cloth, and glue and makes a temporary pad, which he thinks is a better replacement for the costly one.

The professor is baffled by Laxmi's actions and shows him videos of pad-making machines worth millions to derail his ideas.

He ends up meeting Pari Walia, an MBA student at Faculty of Management Studies – University of Delhi, and supplies a pad to her.

Pari turns down her campus placement and helps a dejected Laxmi sell his pads to rural women, who later join him in his venture.

The film is based on the life of Arunachalam Muruganantham, a Tamil Nadu-based social activist who revolutionized the concept of menstrual hygiene in rural India by creating a low-cost sanitary napkin machine.

The producers' main agenda was to reach out to a wide audience to create awareness and eradicate prevalent superstitions in India surrounding sanitary pads.

As with Kumar's previous film, Toilet: Ek Prem Katha, he hoped to educate the masses, both women and men, about menstrual hygiene and to stop labelling it as stigma or taboo in society.

[4] The idea to adapt Murugan's life began in 2015 when Twinkle Khanna came across his story while doing a research for a column in The Times of India.

[4] Simultaneously a screen version of his life was planned, in order to reach out to more audiences, saying "our world is filled with viewers, not readers.

"[4] Khanna, who also serves as a co-producer on the film, said she was drawn to the project due to its relevant yet underrated subject about menstruation and Muruganantham's determination.

[5] Akshay Kumar plays Laxmikant Chauhan, based on Arunachalam Muruganantham, also known as "India's Menstrual Man".

[21] Muruganantham worked closely with R. Balki, Kumar and Khanna on set in India, making sure every detail was accurate from the way he built his machine, to how to operate it, even his own posture.

[11][24] However, on 19 January, it was announced that the film has been postponed to 9 February 2018 to avoid clashing with Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Padmaavat.

[8] Regarding the possible box office clash with Aiyaary which was to release on the same day, Kumar denounced the tension saying that it was unlikely since both films have different subjects and themes.

[15] In China, it released on 14 December 2018, with Chinese title "印度合伙人"[27] (Yìndù héhuǒ rén), which translates as "Indian Partner".

[32] A second poster was released on 25 December which shows Kumar holding cotton in his hand with words like "Fighter, Genius, Innovation, Unreal Man, No Shame, Real Problem and Passion" written all around.

Some scenes feel like a labored public service announcement and the melodrama gets shrill in places but largely Balki and his co-writer Swanand Kirkire keep the story moving.

"[47] Rajeev Masand of News 18 gave the film 2.5 out of 5 stars and said, "The writing, by Balki and Swanand Kirkire, starts out sharp and funny, but quickly becomes heavy-handed and repetitive.