In India, in the leisure sphere, this has been a Deepika Padukone information week. The Bollywood actor on Saturday (June 7, 2025) formally boarded the solid of Telugu star Allu Arjun’s sci-fi magnum opus with director Atlee. The announcement, whereas delighting followers, arrived in a charged context: Deepika, at the moment on a maternity break, has waded into a controversy after her alleged fallout with the makers of Spirit, resulting in her departure from the movie.
Did Deepika stroll out of Spirit or was she dropped? Was she honest in demanding a 10% revenue share, as claimed in sure experiences? Are eight-hour work shifts possible on blockbuster movie units? Is Deepika not returning for Kalki 2? These questions have swirled round for days on social media, at the same time as Deepika (who welcomed her daughter Dua in September final 12 months) or her representatives are but to touch upon the problem.
As the cycle of speculation continues, right here is a breakdown of how issues unfolded, what’s confirmed and unconfirmed, and how the movie business is responding to this second.
How it began
Deepika Padukone was rumoured to star reverse Prabhas in Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s upcoming movie, Spirit. However, experiences emerged final month of negotiations falling by means of, resulting in Deepika’s exit from the movie. Among the explanations that emerged was the actor’s demand for an eight-hour workday clause in her contract to accommodate her new position as a mother or father. She additionally wished — it was claimed — a remuneration of ₹20-25 crore, and further pay for shoots extending past 100 days. These calls for reportedly didn’t sit nicely with the movie’s director, and Padukone was quickly changed by actor Triptii Dimri, who featured in Vanga’s Animal. Vanga later took to social media, fulminating in opposition to the scenario and alleging ‘Dirty PR games’. Without naming Padukone, he accused her of leaking Spirit’s story and ‘undermining’ a youthful feminine actor.
The 8-hour workday debate
The demand for shorter and sustainable work hours just isn’t new in Bollywood. The Indian movie business is infamous for gruelling and prolonged shoots. A typical movie shoot can go as much as 12-16 hours a day. There are issues of scheduling, location availability and coordination. While India’s labour legal guidelines prohibit work to 48 hours a week, this doesn’t fairly apply to a movie set, which is, legally talking, neither a manufacturing unit nor a enterprise institution. Technicians, junior artists and each day wagers appear to undergo essentially the most, however even high stars discover their commitments overbearing, struggling to steadiness life and work.
In January this 12 months, the All Indian Cine Workers Association (AICWA) wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi highlighting poor work situations and exploitative practices in the movie business. The letter highlighted “16 to 20 hours a day without holidays, proper breaks or rest”. Actor Pankaj Tripathi, in a current interview, revealed the identical: “The work hours are getting stretched. I am working 16 to 18 hours on end.”
Radhika Apte just lately asserted that the business isn’t conducive to new moms. Apte at the moment lives in London together with her husband and new child daughter. “It’s really difficult to work in our film industry, given the number of hours and how we film generally, and the time for which we don’t get to see the child. So I guess I’ll just have to figure it out now,” she advised Indian Express.
Industry’s response
Padukone’s seeming advocacy of sustainable work hours has began a dialog in the favored sphere. At an occasion, requested in regards to the demand for eight-hour shifts for brand new moms, actor Kajol stated: “I would love the fact that you can work less.” Kajol’s daughter Nysa was an toddler when Kajol filmed for Karan Johar’s My Name Is Khan.
At the identical occasion, Ajay Devgn stated that the business has taken positively to this demand. “Most of the honest filmmakers will not have problems with it. Apart from this, being a mother and working for eight hours, most people have started working eight-to nine-hour shifts,” he stated, including, “It’s person to person, and I feel most of the industry understands this.”
Saif Ali Khan, Mani Ratnam and Barun Sobti additionally joined the refrain for higher work-life steadiness. However, the Producers Guild of India (PGI) and the Indian Motion Pictures Producers Association (IMPPA) are but to touch upon the problem.
Deepika’s upcoming movies
The Deepika information cycle has been consultant of the speculation media ecosystem. On June 5, unconfirmed experiences, citing an Instagram web page with two million followers, claimed that Deepika had been dropped from Nag Ashwin’s Kalki sequel. The first movie, Kalki 2898 AD, a dystopian sci-fi fantasy, featured Deepika as a central character alongside Prabhas and Amitabh Bachchan. In the wake of the Spirit controversy, it was rumoured that the actor’s demand for shorter work brought about “friction on set”, a declare that later was rubbished by a supply near the movie. Speaking to NDTV, the supply stated, “No shoot, no sets, no interaction and therefore, no question of a fallout.”
Meanwhile, Deepika — an in-demand star for big-screen motion spectacles — has joined the solid of AA22xA6. Her second collaboration with Atlee after 2023’s Jawaan, the movie will characteristic Deepika as a feminine warrior in a sci-fi world. She can also be slated to return in sequels to Pathaan and Brahmastra.
Published – June 07, 2025 04:34 pm IST
