Sayani Gupta reveals she avoided early Delhi Crime seasons due to trauma. Joining season three, she discusses the industry’s grueling 20-hour workdays and the exploitation of crew members reliant on public transport. Gupta attributes these issues to the star system, advocating for punctuality and equal respect for all on set.
In a conversation with Mid-Day, Sayani Gupta begins with a striking admission. “I haven’t watched seasons one and two,” she says, explaining that she deliberately avoided them even after joining the cast of Delhi Crime season three. She adds, “I haven’t seen season one because I still feel triggered,” referring to the acclaimed opener directed by Richie Mehta and rooted in the 2012 Delhi gang-rape case. The material, she notes, remains too painful to revisit.
Joining the series on her own terms
Gupta shares that director Tanuj Chopra, a close friend, reached out to her for the new season. Accepting his offer was a chance to contribute to a story with social relevance. “Every time Tanuj and I spoke, we were on the same page,” she says. She was equally excited about working with Rasika Dugal, someone she lovingly calls “like my sister,” making a long-held wish come true.
The eight-hour debate and calling out complacency
As the industry confronts the ongoing eight-hour work-hours row, Gupta offers an unfiltered view of the harsh reality on sets. She recalls working through punishing shifts. “I have worked 20 hours, even 22, at a stretch,” she admits. While noting that such extremes are not daily occurrences, she insists the usual working pattern is far from acceptable.Gupta highlights the imbalance in how the burden is carried. Actors are often chauffeured, yet “everyone else is commuting by public transport,” she explains. Many crew members depend on trains that stop running after 1 am, leaving them stranded when shoots stretch into overtime. She points out that in many cases “there is no weekly off sometimes; it’s exploitative.”The root of the problem, she believes, is the star system. “Actors in our country are undisciplined,” Gupta says bluntly. She argues that punctuality should not be optional, and yet delays caused by stars often disrupt entire productions. “You could be an actor, but you’re as important as the guy doing the clap,” she asserts, stressing that respect and responsibility must apply equally to everyone on set. Go to Source
