Arif Zakaria Reacts To Work Hours Debate Post Deepika's Kalki 2898AD Exit: Don't Subscribe To It - EXCLUSIVE

Arif

Zakaria has built a diverse career spanning films, television, OTT platforms, and theatre, consistently taking on a wide range of roles. Of late, the work hours debate has turned into a hot topic in the industry, especially after Deepika Padukone's exit from projects like Spirit and Kalki 2898AD. Now, in an exclusive chat with Zoom, the actor shared his two cents on the work hours debate and revealed the reason behind not subscribing to the idea of an 8-hour shift for actors.

Arif Zakaria on the work hours debate

In a chat with us, when asked about his thoughts on the fixed work hours debate, the actor shared that he doesn't subscribe to this idea. He shared," I think an eight-hour shift is a luxury, which is just not possible. So, if you have a nine-to-six shift, an eight-hour shift ends at four o'clock or five o'clock. It's not possible. And I personally don't subscribe to it because of my background. We come from theatre, we come from television, where we worked for 12 hours and 14 hours." He added, "And because as actors, we don't work every day. I could work like six or seven months in a year, three months I'm not working, perhaps. So I'm happy to work extended hours. I don't actually agree to it. But yes, what is important is that there needs to be a structure to work. There needs to be certain schedules to work that we in Bollywood need to imbibe. But maybe the eight-hour shift is a flight of fantasy. I don't think it is possible. We have actors who know of the past who have done 3-3 shifts in a day. The olden stars."

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Arif Zakaria on work-life balance for actors: Don't come into the business if...

During the insightful chat, Zakaria also shared his stance on work-life balance for actors. Without grinding his words, the actor shared, "And the luxury of work-life balance, maybe a few top guys in our business get it. Otherwise, it's not possible. If you want the work-life balance, don't come into the business. Don't come in this business. My logic is very simple. Don't come do something else. Do farming, start your own business somewhere." He concluded, saying," This business is very brutal to a point. So, unless you have the resources or the means or the power to dictate, you know, I'll only work for XYZ hours. I'll work only XYZ months. The rest of us go through a grind. It's a happy grind because we are passionate about it. But work-life balance doesn't exist. Don't come into this business if you want that. That's all corporate jargon here, which doesn't really make sense, I think, in the performing arts. "

Arif Zakaria's work front

Meanwhile, on the work front, Arif was last seen in Mission Raniganj, which was headlined by Akshay Kumar. He will next be seen in Freedom at Midnight Season 2. He also has Nawazuddin Siddiqui co-starrer Faraar in the pipeline.