3 min readChennaiJan 31, 2026 01:11 PM IST
Many actors have shared their two cents on the 8-hour shift debate after Deepika Padukone exited two high-profile projects over the issue. Now, veteran actor Saurabh Shukla has also weighed in, speaking about how the creative process of being an actor does not come with a standard work hours and how continuity matters more while shooting for a project than following a rigid time schedule.
Speaking to India Today, Saurabh shared that one should not crib if sometimes they have to work overtime to keep the creative glow going. “If you’re in a flow, I really think that, suddenly, if you’re going half an hour or one hour beyond your working hours, then you should not crib about it because, in bargaining, you’re getting 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 the work. “It (time limit) should be there, but that is not the main thing. The main thing is the piece you’re creating. Rather than focusing on the watch – that 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 strictly work for eight hours. However, when she demanded the same after becoming a mother, her demand was called ridiculous. “I don’t think what I am asking for is ridiculously unfair and I think only someone who has worked in the system enough will know the conditions that we work in. And I am saying this, if I may say so myself, a top star, so you can only imagine what the working conditions must be like for everyone else, for the crew, for example,” she told Brut India.
“I am not the first one who has asked for something like this. In fact, there are a lot of actors, male actors, who have been working on a 8-hour shift for years and it’s never made headlines,” she added.
