Mumbai: Bollywood icon Madhuri Dixit has weighed in on the industry-wide debate on introducing 8-hour work shifts, saying every actor should have the freedom to choose how they want to balance work and personal life.
Bollywood actress Deepika Padukone has been in the news after her alleged demand for 8-hour work shifts led her to walk out of Prabhas starrer upcoming film ‘Spirit’ directed by Sandeep Reddy Vanga. Deepika’s departure has sparked a wider conversation across the industry about the demands of long shooting hours and the importance of work-life balance.
Madhuri, known for her decades-long career in Bollywood, reflected on her experience of managing long shooting hours while balancing motherhood.
Add Zee News as favorite source
In a conversation with ANI, Madhuri emphasized that defining one’s working hours is a personal decision, “The thing is, when we did ‘Mrs. Deshpande’, we were working 12-hour shifts every day, maybe sometimes more…So, I think to each his own. I am a workaholic. So for me, maybe it’s different, but if a woman has that power And she can say, ‘Okay, I want to work this many hours,’ so that’s her thing.” Privilege, and this is her life, and this is the way she wants to do it… Then more power to her.”
Madhuri stressed that the choice of working hours should be individual, saying that actors should not be pressured to conform to a set standard. His views add to the ongoing debate in the industry about flexible working hours, with some artists advocating a more structured work schedule, while others like him consider it a matter of personal choice.
Read this also ‘Mrs. Deshpande’ teaser out: Madhuri Dixit in a new avatar for the upcoming thriller series
Earlier, actress Rani Mukherjee had also expressed her views on this subject and said that flexible working hours have always been based on mutual understanding between actors and producers.
He said, “These things are up for discussion today because maybe people are discussing it outside. But this has been the norm for all businesses. I have also done this where I have worked for a few hours. If the producer doesn’t agree to it, you can go ahead with the film. If the producer doesn’t agree to it, you don’t make the film. So that’s also an option. Nobody is imposing anything on anybody.”
Meanwhile, Madhuri remains one of the most iconic actresses of Bollywood. She became famous with iconic films like ‘Dil’, ‘Beta’, ‘Hum Aapke Hain Koun..!’, and ‘Dil To Pagal Hai’. She also earned critical praise for her performances in ‘Prem Pratigya’, ‘Parinda’, ‘Mrityudand’, ‘Pukaar’ and ‘Lajja’.
She received the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as ‘Chandramukhi’ in Devdas.
Recently, she starred in Dedh Ishqiya and the Netflix series The Fame Game. She was also seen in Total Dhamaal and Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3.