Kareena Kapoor Khan has come out in support of new mom Deepika Padukone amid the ongoing debate in the film industry about working hours for mothers. The debate started after Deepika opted for an eight-hour
work schedule in order to balance her professional commitments with motherhood.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Kareena supported Deepika Padukone demand for 8 hour shift. She was quoted as saying, “As a woman, if you want to give time to your children, you should have the freedom to say ‘This is what I want. I can only work this number of hours’,” she said. However, she did conclude that while these seem acceptable conditions, they must be said, “Before a film starts.”
The actress was also asked about the dilemma of managing personal as well as professional life. She recalled time while shooting for The Buckingham Murders and said, “For that I had to be in London for 35 days. So I decided to shoot where I would go and come back because we had Diwali in between, so we planned it in such a way. I just feel everything needs to be really well planned and you have to be very clear right from the beginning.”
She appreciated Saif Ali Khan for being a hands-on father and understanding during the period. “The makers were kind enough to understand that and I am also lucky that when I am doing the film, Saif is with the children. When you are in a marriage, you need to have a partner and an understanding with him/her because we both can’t be working and leave the children alone. It is an understanding.”
Ananya Panday Backs Deepika Padukone
The actress recalled working with Deepika in the past before she became a mother, and there was “no such thing,” while talking about the ongoing debate. Ananya said, “I’ve worked with her before she became a mother, there was no such thing like that. She was working, coming for workshops, no complaints, no asking for anything, and that sort of way. Now she’s a mother and this is what she needs, to kind of be present with her child at a time during the first two years…”
Vidya Balan Supports ‘Flexible Working Hours’
Earlier, Vidya Balan also reacted to the growing debate around reasonable working hours, and juggling motherhood and film schedules. While speaking with The Hollywood Reporter India, Vidya Balan said, “There is conversation about how mothers need to have an option to work for fewer hours, flexible hours, right? And I think that’s fair,” she said. The actress further added, “Every industry is adopting those practices so that we don’t lose out on new mothers, or women in the early years of them having children, so I think it’s very important that we do have flexible working hours for women.”
Everything about 8 hour work shift
For the unversed, the work-life balance debate in Bollywood started after Sandeep Reddy Vanga removed Deepika Padukone from Prabhas starrer Spirit earlier this year. Reports suggest that her demands, including eight-hour workdays, a high salary, and a share in the film’s profits, did not sit well with director Vanga. Deepika, a new mother, is reportedly seeking to balance her work and personal life by reducing her working hours.
Deepika Padukone spoke exclusively to CNBC-TV18 when she addressed the ongoing debate surrounding working conditions and pay parity in Bollywood and said, “I have done this at many levels; this is not new to me. I think, even as far as pay is concerned, I have had to deal with whatever comes with it. I don’t even know what to call it, but I am someone who has always fought my battles silently. And for some strange reason, sometimes they become public, which is not the way I know and not the way I’ve been brought up. But yes, to fight my battles silently and in a dignified way is the way I know.”
