Click here to follow Screen Digital on YouTube and stay updated with the latest from the world of cinema.
© IE Online Media Services Pvt Ltd
Tags:
Actor Deepika Padukone’s exit from Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s Spirit and Nag Ashwin’s Kalki 2898 AD’s sequel around the same time led to many speculations about her demands from the producers. It was said that Deepika had asked for an 8-hour workday, which was unacceptable to the producers, and led to her exit from the projects. Now, the actor has spoken up about the same and in the interview, Deepika categorically said that male actors in the film industry have been following 8-hour workdays for a very long time, but that has never been the cause of any controversy.
Deepika started by saying that her demand of 8-hours workdays was not “ridiculously unfair” and implied that the working conditions on a film set aren’t hospitable for someone like her, who is a “top star”, and even worse for the crew. “I don’t think what I am asking for is ridiculously unfair and I think only someone who has worked in the system enough will know the conditions that we work in. And I am saying this, if I may say so myself, a top star, so you can only imagine what the working conditions must be like for everyone else, for the crew, for example,” she told Brut India.
Deepika was asked if she was labelled as “too difficult” for making such demands, which are seen as “pretty basic” everywhere else, and the actor immediately brought up how male actors have been practicing this for years. “I am not the first one who has asked for something like this. In fact, there are a lot of actors, male actors, who have been working on a 8-hour shift for years and it’s never made headlines,” she said.
When Deepika was directly asked if this was a “gender thing”, she said, “I wouldn’t know if it’s a gender thing or not.” She added, “But what I can definitely say is I am definitely advocating for a better work life balance and a better working environment and better working conditions and if that doesn’t work for somebody, we’re not obligated to work with each other.”
In another interview with CNBC 18, she added about the 8-hour shift demand, “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.”
Deepika’s exit from Kalki 2898 AD’s sequel was announced by Vyjayanthi Movies on X where they said that they were “unable to find a partnership” with her. They also wrote that the film deserved “commitment and much more,” implying that Deepika wasn’t willing to commit to the project.
Soon after this, Deepika announced her role in King, starring Shah Rukh Khan. In her Instagram post, Deepika stressed on the “experience of making a movie” and how the people around “matter far more than its success.” Her comment was seen as a veiled response to Vyjayanthi Movies.
King is directed by Siddharth Anand and stars Suhana Khan, and Abhishek Bachchan besides SRK. She will also be seen in Atlee’s ambitious AA22xA6 with Allu Arjun.
Click here to follow Screen Digital on YouTube and stay updated with the latest from the world of cinema.
