Ishaan Khatter Shares His Opinion Amid Row Over Deepika Padukone 8-Hour Shift Demand

Deepika Padukone's reported demand for an 8-hour working shift after the birth of her daughter Dua has sparked industry debate about the working shifts for actresses, especially new moms. For the unversed, Deepika was supposed to collaborate with Sandeep Reddy Vanga for the upcoming film Spirit. But the disagreements over Padukone's demand for an 8-hour work shift and remuneration led her to exit the film.

Several celebs, including Kajol, Ajay Devgn, Mani Ratnam, Kabir Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Rashmika Mandanna, Vikrant Massey and others, have shared their opinions on the 8-hour workday. Actor Ishaan Khatter is the latest to weigh in on the debate.

Ishaan Khatter on 8-hour work shift

Ishaan shared that he has been on sets where sometimes the "protocol of time has been abused".

On the 8-hour shift demand, the 29-year-old actor told NDTV, "To be considerate is to understand that it's a very privileged position to be in as an actor - to be able to say that I'm okay to work these many hours. But there are people in the crew who come in an hour before you, and they have to pack up and leave later. It takes them longer to go back home, so you need to be considerate of the working environment, and decisions should be taken accordingly, I think. That's one thing."

"But what we do is a profession of passion, and often you see people consensually wanting to finish the day's work and not go home without completely completing their desire and imagination, and letting it come to life the way they want. So it happens. But yeah, I think the thing that's important is to be considerate of everybody's time and effort," added the Homebound star.

Deepika Padukone on demand for 8-hour shift

Deepika Padukone was replaced by Triptii Dimri in Spirit, for reportedly putting forth certain conditions as a new mother, which Vanga allegedly rejected.

Reports claimed that Deepika demanded a strict eight-hour shift, a whopping fee, along with a 10% profit share, and even refused to deliver the Telugu lines in the Prabhas starrer.

Recently, she broke her silence on the row in an interview with CNBC-TV18. She said that "male superstars" have been doing an 8-hour shift for years, but it "never made headlines."

"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," she said.

"I don't want to take names now and make this into a whole thing, but it is very commonly, publicly known that a lot of male actors have been working for eight hours a day for years." She also said that a lot of them only work for eight hours Monday to Friday and don't work on weekends.