3 minutes of readingChennaiJanuary 31, 2026 1:11 PM IST
Many actors have shared their two cents in the debate about the 8-hour later shift Deepika Padukone he abandoned two high-profile projects over the issue. Now a veteran actor. Saurabh Shukla He also weighed in, talking about how the creative process of being an actor doesn’t come with a standard work schedule and how continuity is more important while filming a project than following a rigid schedule.
Speaking to India Today, Saurabh shared that one should not criticize if he sometimes has to work overtime to maintain the creative glow. “If you’re in a flow, I really believe that all of a sudden, if you go half an hour or an hour beyond your working hours, then you shouldn’t be critical about it because, in negotiation, you’re getting so much more. That continuity of thought and continuity of that flow.”
Saurabh further shared that instead of focusing on working hours on set, actors should focus on work. “The (time limit) should be there, but that’s not the main thing. The main thing is the piece you’re creating. Instead of focusing on the clock, oh, it’s 6 or 8 and I have to go home, focus more on the work you’re doing,” he said.
In an old interaction with Brut India, Deepika spoke about how many top male actors work strictly for eight hours. However, when she demanded the same after becoming a mother, her demand was called ridiculous. “I don’t think what I’m asking for is ridiculously unfair and I think only someone who has worked long enough in the system will know the conditions we work in. And I say, if I may say so, I am a big star, so you can only imagine what the working conditions must be like for everyone else, for the team for example,” he told Brut India.
“I’m not the first to ask for something like this. In fact, there are many actors, male actors, who have been working 8-hour shifts for years and have never made the headlines,” she added.