Deepika Padukone's call for an eight-hour workday has ignited an important conversation about work-life balance in the film industry. As more members of the industry weigh in on the issue, Kannada filmmaker and journalist Indrajit Lankesh has extended his support to the actor, stressing the need for more structured working hours, especially for mothers.
Sharing his views on Hindi Rush podcast, Lankesh said actors, particularly working mothers, deserve balanced schedules and that filmmakers should plan shoots accordingly instead of expecting performers to endure long working hours.
Explaining why he supports Deepika's position, he said, "If you're shooting with an artist especially with Deepika for 6 hours and then he can shoot another scene for 4 hours because I'll be behind the camera. I can work for the next 4 hours also. But artist cannot. They look tired. So you can plan your scenes, you can schedule accordingly and you can give them a break. You have to give them a break. And especially when you're a mother and you have a kid, you have to because you have to look after the kid. Mother's love is most important. You can have a caretaker or anybody for the kid but mother has to look after this."
Lankesh also applauded Deepika for raising the issue, saying her stand goes beyond benefiting mothers and supports every actor working in the industry.
"What she has done about eight hours, I feel really great about it and standing up for every woman or for every artist because more than 8 hours, you're the one who's in front of the camera. You look tired, you look haggard, and tomorrow you can't do anything about it because on screen you're the one who's acting people are watching you. The director, of course, he's telling his story. He's behind the scene. But in front of the camera, you're there and if you work for more than 8 hours a day, you look haggard. You look tired and nobody can kind of come into your rescue at the time."
Speaking about the constant scrutiny actors face over their appearance, he added, "You have to answer the questions about you're looking old, you're looking haggard, you're looking tired, you're looking kind of not giving your best. So 8 hours is perfect for an actor."
Lankesh further argued that acting demands significantly more physical and mental effort than a conventional corporate job and suggested that even shorter workdays would be more suitable for performers.
"In fact, it should be 6 hours because it's a 8 hours for an office going corporate job is fine because you can have you tea, coffee sitting there. You can come back and work in front of your computer. You can refresh yourself. But acting, whatever you do, camera doesn't lie. So camera is one person who doesn't lie. So you have to kind of work 6 hours.. 6 to 7 hours.. and especially when you are a mother."
As the discussion around healthier work practices in cinema continues to grow, Deepika Padukone's demand has evolved into a broader conversation about improving working conditions for actors, particularly working mothers. Supporting her stance, Indrajit Lankesh believes regulated work hours are crucial not only for maintaining an actor's on-screen performance but also for helping them balance their personal responsibilities. His remarks further strengthen the growing support within the film industry for better work-life balance.
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