Actress Shefali Shah has taken a stand for work-life balance by instituting mandatory 8-hour workdays, a change inspired by her triumph with ‘Delhi Crime’. She argues that asking for comfortable vanity vans and suites should be recognized as practical needs, enhancing the working environment for the entire cast and crew.
Deepika Padukone’s reported exit from upcoming films ‘Kalki 2’ and ‘Spirit’ over her demand for an 8-hour shift has reignited debate around how long actors are expected to work. ‘Delhi Crime’ star Shefali Shah revealed that she too has fixed working hours written into her contract and is finally in a position to insist that they are respected.
Finally able to ask for what she needs
Speaking to News18, Shah credited the global success of ‘Delhi Crime’ for changing how she is treated on set. “After all this time, after Delhi Crime, after me headlining a show, now I get what I ask for. Earlier, it was out of the question. For the longest time, I didn’t have an agent. Now I have someone with me who is very fierce, and she goes all out to protect me. Also, now there is a thing of if this is not possible, then I will not do the project. Earlier, whatever they say, I agreed.”
She recalled how her husband, producer Vipul Shah, even instructed her team to enforce her time limit. “Recently, Vipul Shah (her husband and producer) was talking to my assistant and told her that she has to get me out of the set after the agreed time because I can’t shoot for 24 hours. He told her, ‘She has to be taken out of there. She has to be physically moved out.’ I am still made to feel guilty about it in certain ways.”
Why a suite and vanity are not “luxuries”
Shah stressed that her requests are practical, not extravagant. “I believe I am a very reasonable person. I ask for basic things, and there is a logic when I ask for things. You need a good room or a suite. But they ask, ‘Why do you need a suite?’ Because my hair, makeup, and everything are set up over there. In a hotel room, where is the space beyond the bed?”“So, where will I keep all of these things? You want to do creative meetings with me? Where will I sit? On my bed? Would you allow it? It’s a basic thing. But people see it as a luxury. If not, give me an office space where I can do my trials,” she added.Her concern extends to her crew. “When I’m asking for a vanity van, I am asking it not just for myself, but also for my team. I don’t like my team standing outside in the heat or the rain. A lot of actors don’t care, but I don’t like it. You are asking for a decent van and a toilet, and not just for yourself. I also speak for my team. If I am on a shoot, and the producer says that I will only pay for your food, then I say okay and I give my card. I don’t want to discussion about it because it is not worth my effort.”Shah said her contractual timings are now quietly helping others on set too. “I was shooting a few months ago, and there is a stipulated time on my contract, so I used to leave and I remember after 2-3 days an AD and some crew members said that ‘thank God, she leaves because that way we get to go home, otherwise we are just here, we live on the set,’” she recalled in her interview, underlining how star power can reset unhealthy work norms for everyone. Go to Source
