Amid Deepika Padukone’s 8-hour shift demand, Ranveer Singh watches as Dhurandhar director says cast, crew pulled 16-hour days for 1.5 years

He added, “Everybody has put their heart and soul into the film, and it doesn’t happen very often. The HODs got involved in the film with a pure intent. From actors, assistance, HODs to spot dadas — everybody was like iss film ke liye jaan deni hai (We will give our lives for this film). We have worked for 16 -18 hours continuously for 1.5 years and not even once has anyone complained ki sir aap hamse zyada kaam kara rahe ho (Sir, you are making us work more). Everybody has given their 100%.”

‘Worked out of our skin’: Ranveer Singh

Ranveer lauded Aditya’s hard work and admitted that the team, including him, has “worked out of their skin” for this project. He said, “When a person (Aditya) is so righteous in their intent, when he has a purpose behind telling the story, something great always comes out of it. I also went along with it, faced every challenge along the way, and he was leading from the front with such passion that it was infectious, it was contagious.”

He continued, “We were at a very similar stage in life when we met for this film over the past two years, we both have grown together. He had a baby boy. I had a baby girl and we worked out of our skin to make sure that our people, our team, our families, our audience are proud of what we made over here.”

Deepika spoke on glorification of overwork

For the unversed, after becoming a mother to her daughter Dua, Deepika exited high-profile projects like the sequel of Kalki 2898 AD and Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s Spirit because her 8-hour shift demand, along with other requirements, wasn’t met by the makers.

In a recent chat with Harper’s Bazaar, she also spoke about how overworking is normalised in India. “We’ve normalised overworking. We mistake burnout for commitment. Eight hours of work a day is enough for the human body and mind. Only when you’re healthy can you give your best. Bringing a burnt-out person back into the system helps no one.” Deepika said that at her office, they follow a strict 5-day and 8-hour work policy with sufficient maternity and paternity breaks. “In my own office, we work eight hours a day, Monday to Friday. We have maternity and paternity policies. We should normalise bringing children to work,” she said.

Deepika, in an earlier chat with IBN, Deepika had said that while a lot of male actors get away with 8-hour shifts, women are called out when they demand the same. “By virtue of being a woman, if that’s coming across as being pushy or whatever, then so be it. But it is no secret that a lot of superstars, male superstars, in the Indian film industry, have been working for eight hours for years, and it’s never made headlines. A lot of them only work for eight hours Monday to Friday. They do not work on weekends.”