• Source:JND
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Deepika Padukone's exit from Spirit and Kalki 2 sparked debate about Bollywood's work culture, with her demand for 8-hour shifts as a new mother being cited as a reason. This controversy has reignited discussions about work-life balance in the industry. Amid the ongoing debate, an old video of Abhishek Bachchan, talking about Akshay Kumar’s work hours, has gone viral. In the video, he claimed that Akshay doesn't work a second more of his 8-hour work hours.

The video features Abhishek saying, "Pack up hote hi, most excited person, Akshay Kumar. Aath (eight) ghante se zyada kaam nahi karte hain yeh. Subah saath (seven) baje aayenge set pe… turant meter chaalu." In the video, Ritesh said, "Time starts now." Abhishek continued, “Aath ghante maane beech shot main kapde utre, make up nikal ke aajayenge."

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However, on Friday, Deepika Padukone finally broke silence over the ongoing debates surrounding her demands for 8-hour work shift. She said in a conversation with CNBC, "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 8 hours for years, and it’s never made headlines."

She further added, “I don’t want to take names now and make this into this whole thing, but it’s very commonly, publicly known about a lot of male actors who have been working for 8 hours for years. A lot of them work only 8 hours Monday to Friday; they do not work on weekends."

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Deepika emphasised, "I think the larger issue is that while the Indian film industry is called an ‘industry’, we’ve never really functioned like one. It’s extremely disorganised, and it’s about time we brought in proper systems and structure."