The debate around the 8-hour work shift, ever since Deepika Padukone walked out of Sandeep Reddy Vanga's Spirit, refuses to dial down. Recently, at the NDTV World Summit 2025 session titled Ishaan Khatter: Fierce, Fearless, Free, the Homebound actor shared his thoughts on the issue.
He said, “I've been on sets where sometimes the protocol of time has been abused even, but that is something I would say is an important conversation.”
Ishaan Khatter added, "To be considerate is to understand that it's a very privileged position to be in as an actor - to be able to say that I'm okay to work these many hours. But there are people in the crew who come in an hour before you, and they have to pack up and leave later. It takes them longer to go back home, so you need to be considerate of the working environment, and decisions should be taken accordingly, I think. That's one thing."
"But what we do is a profession of passion, and often you see people consensually wanting to finish the day's work and not go home without completely completing their desire and imagination, and letting it come to life the way they want. So it happens. But yeah, I think the thing that's important is to be considerate of everybody's time and effort," the actor continued to say.
Background
The debate around work–life balance in Bollywood began after reports surfaced that Deepika had been dropped from Spirit, starring Prabhas, due to her requests for limited working hours (an 8-hour shift), a high fee, and a share in the film's profits.
As a new mother, Deepika is reportedly seeking to reduce her work hours to strike a balance between her professional and personal life.
Several industry figures have expressed support for Deepika. Actor Vikrant Massey, director Anurag Basu, and actresses Rashmika Mandanna and Vidya Balan have backed the idea of flexible working hours in the film industry.
Meanwhile, Deepika Padukone has begun filming King, her sixth collaboration with Shah Rukh Khan. The duo were last seen together in Jawan.
In A Nutshell
Ishaan Khatter calls the debate around the 8-hour work shift an important conversation. He added that he has been on sets where the protocol of time has been abused.
