Last Updated:June 07, 2025, 18:25 IST
Rana Daggubati addresses Deepika Padukone’s Spirit controversy, saying work hours in film vary and are a personal choice, not a forced condition.
Rana Daggubati has offered a grounded perspective on Deepika Padukone’s reported exit from Spirit over working hour clauses.
Deepika Padukone’s exit from Spirit, the much-anticipated project by Animal director Sandeep Reddy Vanga, has ignited a wider industry debate on working conditions and contractual expectations within Indian cinema. The new mom reportedly opted out of the Prabhas-starrer over disagreements related to an 8-hour workday clause and profit-sharing demands. While opinions have been sharply divided—especially after Vanga’s cryptic but scathing post aimed at the actress—actor Rana Daggubati has stepped in with a more balanced and thought-provoking perspective.
Speaking to The Lallantop, Rana offered a nuanced take on the issue of working hours in the Indian film industry, grounding his thoughts in the socio-economic realities of the country. “We should understand that India is a developing country. We are not a developed nation. Our economy is probably 186th in the world if you look at per capita income,” he said. “In a country that has 1.8 billion people and 70–80 percent of those earn ₹100 a day, when we start seeing things in that light, we realise we have a big place to catch up.”
For Rana, who hails from the Telugu film industry, work culture isn’t just professional—it’s personal. “I come from an industry that moved from Madras. It was a bunch of families and hundreds of others who packed their bags and started over in another city. So to me, it’s not work—it’s a lifestyle.”
He went on to emphasize that working conditions vary widely across regional film industries and even across individual projects. “Like in Maharashtra, it’s a 12-hour shift. In Telugu, it’s 8 hours. But while Maharashtra starts at 9 am, Telugu starts at 7 am. If you’re on location or in a studio, if you’re shooting on a set—it all affects the equation. It’s never generic,” he explained.
Addressing concerns around actors being overworked or forced to stay longer on set, Rana was clear: “Nobody is forcing anybody. It’s a job. Just like nobody forces you to do a particular show—it’s always a choice. Everyone decides what’s important in their life. There are actors who shoot for only 4 hours—that’s their system.”
Earlier, Deepika’s decision to walk away from Spirit was met with a public outburst from Sandeep Reddy Vanga. In a fiery post on X, he lashed out without naming her directly. “There is an unsaid NDA between us. But by doing this, you’ve ‘disclosed’ the person that you are,” he wrote. He further accused the actress of trying to “put down a younger actor” and questioned her brand of feminism, adding, “You didn’t get it. You won’t get it. You will never get it.”
Yatamanyu Narain is a Sub-Editor at News18.com with a passion for all things entertainment. Whether he’s breaking the latest Bollywood news or chatting with rising stars in the OTT world, he’s always on the hun…Read More
Yatamanyu Narain is a Sub-Editor at News18.com with a passion for all things entertainment. Whether he’s breaking the latest Bollywood news or chatting with rising stars in the OTT world, he’s always on the hun… Read More
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