Filmmaker Hansal Mehta has given a scathing analysis of the work culture in the Indian film industry amid debate about shifts for actors and technicians in Bollywood. His remarks come hot on the heels of Deepika Padukone exiting two big projects – Spirit and Kalki 2 – due to her demand for an 8-hour work shift as a new mother.
Hansal Mehta has opened up on Hindi film industry’s work culture. Hansal Mehta calls out Bollywood’s shift model
Taking to X (formerly Twitter) on Friday, Hansal wrote a long note on the working conditions in films in India. “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?” he began.
The filmmaker said that the daily wage earners, usually working as extras or doing odd jobs on sets, are the most vulnerable in such a model. “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,” the filmmaker added.
Hansal laments corporations doing nothing to change things
Over the last decade or so, the Indian film scene has seen the entry of several global studios. Many have partnered with Indian production houses, while others have created Indian offshoots. Hansal lamented that rather than alleviating the working conditions here, these corporations have adapted to the Indian way. “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. I truly believe that if we cared about well-being, ours and especially those who hold up the base of this pyramid, we’d not only work better, but live better. The irony is that quality, efficiency, and even profit would follow. But first, we need to stop scoffing at the simple idea of rest. Because without that, what are we really building?” the filmmaker concluded.
Deepika Padukone’s 8-hour shift demand
Deepika Padukone made headlines last year after she was replaced in Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s Spirit with Triptii Dimri. The actor reportedly demanded an 8-hour shift, among other things. Last month, she also exited Prabhas, Kamal Haasan, and Amitabh Bachchan-starrer Kalki 2.
Talking about her choices at an event last week, Deepika said, “I don’t even know what to call it but I am someone who always fought my battles silently, and for some strange reasons, sometimes they become public, which is not the way I know and not the way I’ve been brought up but yes to fight my battles and to do it silently and in a dignified way is the way I know.”