Vidya Balan has joined the growing debate over flexible work hours in Bollywood, sparked by Deepika Padukone’s reported exit from Spirit due to her request for an eight-hour shoot day. Vidya noted she personally works 12-hour shifts.
The Bollywood film industry is full of buzzes and conversations about work-life balance in the current scenario, especially among the new moms, owing to deepika padukone's withdrawal from Sandeep Reddy Vanga's film Spirit. This has brought the issue out in the open, as it was said that Deepika had put the condition of an eight-hour work environment because she is a new mother. Otherwise she was likely to be replaced by Triptii Dimri in the film. So, Vidya Balan came out keeping her views on the matter, making noises in the direction of flexible working hours in the film industry.
Vidya Balan on Deepika Padukone's Work Hour Clash
And she said, "There is a conversation about how mothers need to have an option to work for fewer hours, flexible hours, right? I think that's fair." Vidya Balan actually made this statement in a candid interview given to The Hollywood Reporter India, where she expressed support for Deepika's stance on 'meeting the demands of motherhood'. Such practices are now being adopted into industries to serve the women in their early motherhood, and Bollywood should not be left behind.
But Vidya also mentions that she is not a mother and that this is why she can stretch her working hours. "With the kind of films that I do, we cannot afford to shoot only for eight hours. And I am not a mother, so I have all the time in the world to be doing a 12-hour shift," she added.
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These comments were made in the backdrop of a lot of celebrities speaking against those who condemned Padukone, like Kajol, Sonakshi Sinha, and Neha Dhupia among others. The topic has now initiated widespread discussion about how Bollywood needs to change to catch up with the changing demands from some of its most precious resources-women taking on motherhood as they pursue their careers.
Some pundits argue that shorter shifts would increase production schedules and budgets, but others feel it is a necessary step toward inclusive, empathetic work culture.
