Deepika Padukone Row: Abhishek Bachchan Revealed Akshay Kumar Works Only 8 Hours, Leaves 'Mid Shot'

Deepika Padukone Row: Abhishek Bachchan Revealed Akshay Kumar Works Only 8 Hours, Leaves 'Mid Shot'

Deepika Padukone's ouster from Spirit and Kalki 2 grabbed everyone's attention and stirred a debate about the work culture in Bollywood. Speculations suggested that her decision to work an 8-hour shift as a new mother was one of the main reasons behind her stepping away from the projects. Amid the chatter, an old video of Abhishek Bachchan talking about Akshay Kumar's work hours has gone viral.

Akshay Kumar, Abhishek Bachchan and Riteish Deshmukh had appeared on Kapil Sharma's show to promote a Housefull instalment. Abhishek Bachchan said, “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."

Riteish said, “Time starts now." Abhishek continued, “Aath ghante maane beech shot main kapde utre, make up nikal ke aajayenge." This video has resurfaced after Deepika Padukone recently called out the glaring double standards in Bollywood and mentioned how even male superstars have fixed working hours, which no one fusses over.

In an interview with CNBC-TV18, Deepika said, “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."

Deepika emphasised that the Indian film industry remains disorganised despite being called an ‘industry'. She stated, “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."

On whether she is the lone voice advocating for fair working conditions, Deepika said, “I also know a lot of women now and newly turned mothers who have also started working eight hours. But that also surprisingly didn't make headlines. So I'm not sure about this myself."

Deepika Padukone told Brut, “I don't think what I'm asking for (better working conditions) is ridiculously unfair, and I think only someone who's worked in the system enough will know that the conditions that we work in, and I'm saying this as if I may say so myself a top star." She added that she understands that everyone has a different working style and mentioned that no one is obligated to work with each other if they cannot understand their needs.

Source: News18
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