Amid the ongoing debate over eight-hour work shift for new mothers, actor Vidya Balan expressed her views on flexible working hours in the film industry. While backing actor Deepika Padukone’s stand, she highlighted the need to adopt an empathetic work culture to support new mothers in Bollywood.

The film industry has witnessed a divided stance on working mothers ever since Deepika-Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s ‘Spirit’ row. Vidya, in a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, emphasised how women are an integral part of the workforce in the film industry. She 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.”

The actor further said, “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.”

Vidya also admitted that she is able to devote more working hours due to not having parental responsibilities. “With the kind of films that I do, we can’t afford to shoot only for eight hours. I am not a mother, so I have all the time in the world to be doing a 12-hour shift,” she added.

Previously, director Anurag Basu also backed Deepika’s choice for flexible working hours. In an interview with Firstpost, he said, “I also don’t like long-hour shifts at work. My actors never complain about long hours or stress at work. So, I absolutely agree with what Deepika Padukone had to say. It’s a film; I never give my actors a chance to complain about this.”

The debate around an eight-hour work shift was sparked after Deepika stepped out of Vanga’s ‘Spirit’ with Prabhas. The issues with flexible working hours was one of the reasons behind the actor’s exit from the movie.

Her ouster from the film led to actor Triptii Dimri being signed to play the lead role in the movie.

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