Madhuri Dixit says she works 12-hour days amid Deepika Padukone’s 8-hour shift debate; calls herself a ‘workaholic’

Many celebrities have weighed in on the 8-hour shift debate after new mom Deepika Padukone demanded the same and stepped away from high-profile projects like the sequel of Kalki 2898 AD and Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s Spirit. Deepika has been advocating for work-life balance for everyone on a film set for a long time, but she took a stronger stance, especially after becoming a mother to her daughter Dua. Recently, actor Madhuri Dixit, who left the film industry after getting married to US-based Dr Shriram Nene, spoke about working limited hours.

Speaking to ANI, Madhuri admitted that when she was at the top of her game in the 90s, actors had no concept of work-life balance. Even today, when she worked on her upcoming project Mrs Deshpande, Madhuri admitted that she worked on it for 12 or more hours every day. She said, “The thing is that when we did ‘Mrs Deshpande’, we were working 12-hour shifts every day, like maybe more sometimes. So, I think to each his own. I’m a workaholic.”

Madhuri, however, also admitted that Deepika has star power, she can demand what suits her. “So for me, maybe it’s different, but if a woman has that power and can say, ‘Okay, I want to work these many hours,’ then that’s her prerogative, and that’s her life, and that’s how she wants to do it. Then more power to her,” she said.

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Madhuri Dixit and Dr Shriram Nene tied the knot in 1999. She then shifted to the US to live with him. At the time, Dr Nene was practising as a cardiac surgeon in Denver, and Madhuri gradually stepped away from films. However, years later, she returned to the screen with 2007’s Aaja Nachle. She went on to judge reality shows and slowly started getting back to work in showbiz, and eventually the family decided to relocate to India. Amid this transition, Dr Nene left his career as a heart surgeon and moved into the medical-tech entrepreneurship space.