Published on: Dec 01, 2025 09:33 pm IST
After Deepika Padukone reportedly walked out of films due to work shift demands, Madhuri Dixit explains why it’s different for different actors.
Ever since Deepika Padukone’s exit from Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s Spirit and Nag Ashwin’s Kalki 2898 AD sequel, there has been a lot of conversation around work shifts. Now actor Madhuri Dixit has weighed in on the debate in a conversation with ANI, saying that she is a ‘workaholic’ and had 12-hour shifts on her upcoming show Mrs Deshpande.
What Madhuri said
During the chat, Madhuri said, “The thing is that when we did ‘Mrs Deshpande’, we were working 12-hour shifts every day, like maybe more sometimes…So, I think to each his own. I’m a workaholic. So for me, maybe it’s different, but if a woman has that power and can say, ‘okay, I want to work these many hours,’ then that’s her prerogative, and that’s her life, and that’s how she wants to do it…Then more power to her.”
About the debate
Reports suggested Deepika left Spirit and Kalki 2898 AD for requesting an 8-hour work shift. She addressed this issue in an interview with CNBC-TV18. She defended her choice, stating: “By virtue of being a woman, if that’s coming across as being pushy or whatever, then so be it.”
She pointed out that many prominent male stars in the industry have worked 8-hour shifts for years without negative headlines. Deepika also noted that although the film industry is called such, it is very “disorganised” in many aspects.
Mrs Deshpande, directed by Nagesh Kukunoor, is an official remake of the French thriller La Mante. La Mante tells the story of a serial killer who agrees to help catch a copycat murderer on the condition that she works exclusively with her estranged son, forcing the two into an emotionally fraught partnership. The series is set to release on December 19, on JioHotstar.
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