Director Hansal Mehta has echoed Deepika Padukone’s concerns about the film industry’s gruelling work hours, calling out the culture that normalises exhaustion and dismisses rest
Hansal Mehta
Director Hansal Mehta has now weighed in on the much-discussed shift timing issue in the film industry. The discussion surfaced after Deepika Padukone demanded an 8-hour shift clause for Sandeep Reddy Vanga's film Spirit. With the clause not being accepted, the actress walked out of the film. While Deepika had earlier shared her thoughts on the demand for an 8-hour work shift, Hansal Mehta has now shared his perspective on it.
Hansal Mehta on industry's work culture
Hansal Mehta, who has been a part of the film industry for over two decades with films like Omerta, Faraaz, and The Buckingham Murders to his credit, took to X to write in detail about working hours in the industry. “In our line of work, a 12-hour day is politely called a ‘shift.’ The truth is, between the chaos of shoots, the endless commute, hurried meals, and barely a few hours of broken sleep, there’s little left of us. Where does our mental health or physical well-being fit into this equation?” he questioned.
He further wrote, “Weekends are rarely weekends. Breaks are looked down upon. Somewhere along the way, exhaustion became normalised and rest became a privilege. Sometimes I wonder: can this really be called an industry if it runs on the relentless draining of its people?”
Mehta stressed how people with the least power are the most affected. “The hardest hit are those who have the least power — the daily wagers. They are always the first to arrive and the last to leave, surviving in conditions we’d call inhuman anywhere else. On television, it’s worse, and now even OTT and films have slipped into the same pattern.”
In our line of work, a 12-hour day is politely called a “shift.” The truth is, between the chaos of shoots, the endless commute, hurried meals and barely a few hours of broken sleep, there’s little left of us. Where does our mental health or physical well-being fit into this…
— Hansal Mehta (@mehtahansal) October 10, 2025
He also observed that the country hasn’t moved away from a culture that looks down on rest. “We often celebrate the arrival of global corporations, believing they’ll bring better systems. But more often than not, they simply adapt to the broken ones we already have — because it’s profitable.
I truly believe that if we cared about well-being — ours and especially those who hold up the base of this pyramid — we’d not only work better but live better. The irony is that quality, efficiency, and even profit would follow. But first, we need to stop scoffing at the simple idea of rest.”
What Deepika Padukone said about her 8-hour shift demand
During a conversation with CNN TV18, Deepika was asked about the chatter surrounding her. Talking about the Indian film industry and the need for change, she said, “By virtue of being a woman, if that’s coming across as being pushy or whatever, then so be it. But it’s no secret that a lot of male superstars in the Indian film industry have been working for 8 hours for years, and it’s never made headlines.”
She added, “I don’t want to take names now and make this into a whole thing. But it’s commonly known that many male actors work only 8 hours Monday to Friday and do not work on weekends. The larger issue is that while the Indian film industry is termed an industry, we’ve never really worked like one. We’re a very disorganised industry, and it’s time we brought in some systems and structure.”
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