Veteran filmmaker Mani Ratnam has weighed in on the growing conversation around work-life balance in the Indian film industry, strongly supporting Deepika Padukone’s reported request for an eight-hour workday. In an interview with NDTV during the promotions of his upcoming film Thug Life, Ratnam said such demands, especially from new mothers, should be acknowledged and respected.
Mani Ratnam DEFENDS Deepika Padukone after Spirit exit, calls her eight-hour workday demand “fair”: “It’s a very healthy sign”
“It’s fair if she’s a young mother and needs to take care of her child, and she chooses something that will allow her to do so without any hindrance,” Ratnam said, adding, “I think it’s nice when women ask for what they want and get what they want. It’s a very healthy sign.”
Responding to whether the industry should accommodate such requests, Ratnam answered without hesitation: “I think so.” He continued, “If it doesn’t fit into your film, move on. But they should be respected for what they are asking. They are making a very fair demand, which is absolutely necessary, so we should acknowledge it and see how to live with it.”
Ratnam’s comments come amid widespread discussion over Deepika Padukone’s exit from director Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s Spirit. Industry sources claimed that the actor, who recently welcomed her daughter, Dua, requested eight-hour shifts so she could maintain a balance between work and motherhood. Her reported stance sparked a backlash online, with Vanga appearing to take a veiled jab at her by labelling her “unprofessional” in an indirect social media post.
The situation intensified after Triptii Dimri, who had worked with Vanga in his previous film Animal, was cast as Deepika’s replacement. Following that, Vanga appeared to take further digs in a now-viral post on X (formerly Twitter), hinting that someone from the cast had leaked story details about Spirit, a cop drama said to feature an “A-rated action twist.”
“Putting down a younger actor and ousting my story? Is this what your feminism stands for?” he wrote, in what many again interpreted as a veiled reference to Deepika. “You didn’t get it. You won’t get it. You will never get it.”
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