Bollywood actress Deepika Padukone had a recent fallout with filmmakers Sandeep Reddy Vanga and Nag Ashwin. Due to several underlying reasons, Padukone’s name was struck off from both Ashwin’s Kalki 2 and Vanga’s Spirit. Padukone, however, finally broke her silence on her 8-hour workday demand.
Speaking to CNBC-TV18, the actress shared how her “male” counterparts have been working for 8 hours for years. She remarked that it “never made headlines.” There were several speculations that she had demanded a share of profits from the film and remuneration worth several hundred crores. While there was no comment made on that, Padukone addressed her shift demand, considering she is a new mother to daughter, Dua.
‘They do not work on weekends’
“By virtue of being a woman, if that’s coming across as being pushy or whatever, then so be it,” she said. “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,” added Padukone.
While she refrained from naming any co-stars or actors, Padukone reiterated that several male actors have been working for eight hours a day. However, she added, “A lot of them only work for eight hours Monday to Friday. They do not work on weekends.”
Deepika Padukone on the Indian film industry
Making a strong remark on the Indian film industry, across the borders of the states, the actress termed it as “disorganised.” She said that even though it is “termed as an industry, we have never really worked like an industry”. She called for reform and said, “It’s time we brought in some system into this culture.”
Earlier, she was labelled as not being “committed” enough when Vyjayanthi Movies announced her departure. In a statement, they said that they had decided to let her go from the Kalki 2898 AD franchise after “careful consideration.” While the Bollywood actress is set to star alongside Shah Rukh Khan in ‘King’, she confirmed the project through a cryptic caption.
King is directed by Siddharth Anand, King stars Shah Rukh Khan, Suhana Khan, and Abhishek Bachchan, among others. Deepika will star in Atlee’s upcoming film AA22xA6 alongside Allu Arjun.