Deepika Padukone's forced exit from Spirit and Kalki 2 has sparked debates on work-life balance. The actress was not ready to give more than 7-hour or 8-hour shifts to these projects. Which is why she was sacked by the directors of those movies. There are a few other reasons for the sackings, but this is the most important of them all.
Kajol, one of the biggest female stars in the country in the 1990s, has opined that gruelling work schedules are to be expected in the film industry. "To be 100% present, all the time, for 12-14 hours a day is really difficult... If you are not shooting for a film, you are shooting for something else. You are attending an event. And it's continuous. And I have to be 100% present," she told The Hollywood Reporter India.
While a female actor like her has struck a different note, a male filmmaker like Hansal Mehta has backed Deepika. "The need of the hour is efficiency and economy but not at the cost of people. We must care about the physical and mental health of those who keep this industry running. It is not about the individual star or director - they are usually well looked after. It is about those who arrive earliest, leave last, and often have the least protection. For them especially, we need to care," he wrote recently on social media.
