Hansal Mehta backs Deepika Padukone, says, 'exhaustion became normalised'

Filmmaker Hansal Mehta has shared his thoughts on work-life balance after Deepika Padukone broke her silence on an 8-hour shift, which is currently the hottest topic in the industry.

Speaking her heart out, the Om Shanti Om actress has shared that this was “not something new,” as she pointed out that she's asking for the things that several male superstars have been enjoying for years.

Hansal Mehta slams how exhaustion has been normalised.

Hours after Padukone shared her views on her fight for work-life balance, Mehta has spoken out about the exhausting industry culture.

In a post shared on X, Mehta talked about the 12-hour day, which is politely called a shift.

“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? 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? (sic),” He wrote.

While the debate is about female stars and their work-life balance, Mehta also addressed the daily wagers, the ones who suffer the most.

He added, “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. 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 (sic).”

What has Deepika Padukone said about an 8-hour shift?

Calling out the double standards in the industry, Padukone has broken her silence on working 8 hours after dropping out of Sandeep Reddy Vanga's Spirit and the sequel to Kalki 2898 AD.

In a candid interview with CNBC TV18, the actor 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 went on to add, “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 Monday to Friday; they do not work on weekends.''