Vidya Balan Says New Mom Deepika Padukone’s 8-Hour Shift Demand Is ‘Only Fair’, But…

Word around town is that Deepika Padukone, after becoming a new mom, told Sandeep Reddy Vanga she’d only sign on for Spirit if she could stick to an eight-hour workday. 

But apparently, things didn’t pan out, and Triptii Dimri landed the role instead. Nobody’s officially confirmed what Deepika asked for, but the rumour mill’s been churning—and now the industry’s buzzing about whether new mothers deserve shorter hours on set.

Vidya Balan extends support to Deepika Padukone

A bunch of celebs have weighed in. Vidya Balan, for one, got into it during a chat with The Hollywood Reporter India. She pointed out that there’s finally some conversation happening about letting moms work fewer or more flexible hours—something she says is only fair.

Vidya stated that every industry is trying to keep talented women from dropping out just because they’ve had kids, so it’s about time film sets caught up with the program. 

But here’s her take on her schedule: Vidya’s not a mom herself, so she’s got no issue cranking out those 12-hour days. She admitted, with the kinds of movies she takes on, there’s just no way they could wrap things up in eight hours. Since she doesn’t have kids, she’s got the time to give it her all on those marathon shoots.

On the work front, Vidya Balan is starring in Raja Shivaji, a big-deal biopic about Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, with Riteish Deshmukh both in the lead and calling the shots as director.

Deepika Padukone vs Sandeep Reddy Vanga

A Bollywood Hungama report from May 22 claims Deepika Padukone “refused to shoot for more than six hours a day” while working on Spirit.

That’s not all—the report goes on to say her agency requested changes to her contract. Basically, if the shoot dragged on past 100 days, Deepika wanted extra pay for every day over the original agreement.

According to an insider, director Sandeep Reddy Vanga brought this up with the producers, who tried to resolve things. But Deepika and her team stood their ground. In the end, Vanga reportedly asked her to leave the project.

Whether you believe the rumors or not, it’s not exactly shocking that Padukone—who just had her daughter Dua with Ranveer Singh last September—would want to protect her time. She’s always been vocal about work-life balance, plus she runs The Live Love Laugh Foundation, which focuses on mental health.

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