Deepika Padukone has been in the news ever since her exit from Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s ‘Spirit’ followed by the sequel to ‘Kalki 2898 AD’. Reports suggested that it was due to some of the demands of the actress like pay parity and also 8-hour shift. This led to a debate on whether an eight-hour shift is justified. Days after these reports, Deepika also had reacted to it. The actress spoke about it when she spoke about mental health in a chat with CNBC TV18, “By virtue of being a woman, if that’s coming across as pushy or whatever, then so be it. But it is no secret that many superstars, male superstars, in the Indian film industry, have been working for 8 hours for years, and it’s never made headlines!” Meanwhile, now Madhuri Dixit who has been in the industry for more than three decades has reacted to it. The actress said during a chat with ANI, “So, I think to each his own. I’m a workaholic. So for me, maybe it’s different, but if a woman has that power and can say, ‘Okay, I want to work these many hours,’ then that’s her prerogative, and that’s her life, and that’s how she wants to do it… Then more power to her.” She also added that she was working for 12-hour shifts during the shoot of her upcoming series ‘Mrs Deshpande’. During the same chat, Madhuri also spoke about pay parity. She said, “In any field, even in corporate businesses or anywhere, there’s always pay parity. Everybody is struggling for that, and everybody is trying to state the fact that women should be paid more — not more than the actor, but at least somewhere, you know, where it’s balanced.”Earlier, Rani Mukerji had also reacted to it and she had said, “These things are up for conversation today because maybe people are discussing it outside. But this has been the norm with all professions. I’ve also done it where I have worked for certain hours. If the producer’s okay with it, you go ahead with the film. If the producer isn’t okay with it, you don’t make the film. So it’s also a choice. Nobody is forcing anything on anybody.”
