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Rani Mukherji has been in the film industry for over three decades and has carved a niche for herself. Recently, the actress won the National Award for her powerful performance in Mrs. Chatterjee vs Norway. Rani recently spoke about balancing work and motherhood amid the ongoing debate surrounding Deepika Padukone's reported eight-hour work shift demand. Deepika's exit from Sandeep Reddy Vanga's upcoming film Spirit, starring Prabhas, has sparked widespread discussion about working mothers in cinema. Rani weighed in, expressing her support for Deepika, revealing her own experience in the industry after becoming a mother to Adira.

Rani Mukerji On Deepika Padukone's 8-Hour Shift Demand

In an interview with ANI, Rani reminisced about days when she was filming Hichki in 2018, while her daughter was 14 months old. She said, "When I did 'Hichki', Adira was 14 months old, and I was still breastfeeding her, so I had to pump the milk and go in the morning, and I was shooting in a college in town. From my house in the suburbs in Juhu to that place, and the traffic takes about two hours. So I kind of made it a thing where in the morning I would leave at 6:30 after expressing my milk and I would shoot."

She shared how she planned her shooting schedule to be with her daughter

"My first shot used to be at 8 in the morning and I used to wrap up everything by 12:30-1. My unit and my director, they were so planned that for those 6-7 hours I used to finish my shoot and before the traffic would start in town, I used to be home by 3 o'clock. And I did my film like that," Rani said.

She emphasised that flexible working hours are possible when there is mutual understanding between the actor and producer. The actress shared, "These things are up in conversation today because maybe people are discussing it outside. But this has been a norm with all professions. I've also done it where I have worked for certain hours. If the producer's okay with it, you go ahead with the film. If the producer's not okay with it, you don't do the film. So it's also a choice. Nobody is forcing anything on anybody."

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Rani also addressed how women face after becoming mothers in the industry, pointing out that male actors are not expected to adjust their work-life balance in the same way.

She added, "Men don't have to go through a physical transformation. Additionally, I think we undergo a physical transformation, along with our emotional transformation, as we become mothers. And I'm very happy being a woman. I would not change this for the world because I think men have really got left out on this beautiful, I would say, amazing... amazing thing that we women go through is giving birth to a child. Imagine if men had to have children they would drive people mad. Right now, they have lot of time in their hand, that's why they're having wars. If they had to have children, maybe there would be no war in the world. Because they would be busy just preparing for the baby."

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Rani made her acting debut in 1996 with Biyer Phool, but gained recognition with Kuch Kuch Hota Hai in 1998 alongside Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol. Over the years, she has delivered critically acclaimed performances in films like Ghulam, Bichhoo, No One Killed Jessica, and Mardaani and many others.