Deepika Padukone and director Sandeep Reddy Vanga have been at odds over an 8-hour work demand. The disagreement led to the actress exiting Vanga's upcoming film Spirit, sparking a wave of speculation about clashing work ethics. Now, actress Banita Sandhu has shared her opinion on the same.
The October actress, in an interview with SCREEN, recalled facing a similar issue. On the contrary, Hollywood, she revealed, has many unions to support the stars and the crew.
Banita Sandhu said, "It is so important. One thing that we have in the West is really strong unions. They protect actors and crew. I have always been a firm believer in 12-hour turnovers for everybody on sets. We are not at war, we are making movies."
She added, "I do not think anyone's mental health should be sacrificed for that. At the end of the day, it is a job, and everyone deserves an adequate amount of rest and sleep. It is a basic human right."
Speaking about Hindi cinema, Banita Sandhu shared that work-life balance is slowly "getting better now." The 27-year-old, however, disclosed that things were not that great during the initial years of her career.
"With Hindi cinema, it is getting better now. But early in my career, when I really did not understand how industries work, I just assumed this was the way to work. I did 16-18 hours a day shifts, where producers aligned my schedule, I would shoot the whole day and then fly at night," Banita Sandhu told the outlet.
Without mentioning Bollywood, Banita Sandhu added that voicing her concerns led to her being "blacklisted" from the industry.
She said, "I did not sleep for 24 hours straight. I stood up for myself and the crew. I told the producers that this is not okay. Maybe, I am blacklisted from that industry now, but I don't care. I just believe in standing up for what's right."
On the work front, Banita Sandhu will next be seen in Detective Sherdil. The murder mystery, directed by Ravi Chhabriya, also features Diljit Dosanjh, Boman Irani, Diana Penty, and Sumeet Vyas in key roles. Detective Sherdil will premiere on Zee5 on June 20, 2025.