The ongoing discussion about long working hours in Bollywood has found another strong voice in filmmaker Hansal Mehta, who has come out in support of Deepika Padukone. The Scam 1992 director took to X (formerly Twitter) to speak out about the industry’s relentless work culture, aligning with Deepika’s recent stance on the need for structured working hours.
Hansal Mehta opens up on harsh work schedules
Sharing his perspective in a detailed post, Mehta revealed that a “12-hour workday is politely called a shift” in the film industry. He lamented how the chaos of a film set often leaves no room for rest, writing that “weekends are rarely weekends,” and breaks are “looked down upon,” turning rest into a privilege rather than a right.
“Sometimes I wonder—can this really be called an industry if it runs on the relentless draining of its people?” he wrote, noting that the daily-wage crew members suffer the most, being “the first to arrive and the last to leave.” He added that even television and OTT projects have now adopted the same unhealthy patterns.
According to Mehta, even global production houses operating in India end up adapting to these exploitative systems because they are “profitable.” He concluded his note with a reminder: “We need to stop scoffing at the simple idea of rest. Because without that, what are we really building?”
Soon after his post went viral, many social media users connected his remarks to Deepika Padukone’s recent controversy, where she was allegedly replaced in Spirit and Kalki 2898 AD after requesting an 8-hour workday. One X user defended the demanding schedules, claiming, “Movies like Baahubali and Kalki need such commitment… Ask her to stop crying.”
Hansal wasn’t one to hold back. Replying to the troll, he wrote bluntly, “The trolls arrive. And IDGAFF.”
Recalling his own experience
The filmmaker also shared an anecdote from his past project, saying he once completed shooting within 8–9 hours, but producers urged him to “do a little more.” Ironically, he noted, “The film ended up taking longer than scheduled. Time wasn’t saved; on the contrary, it was wasted. Hours were stretched, not utilised.”
Hansal Mehta, who recently directed The Buckingham Murders starring Kareena Kapoor Khan, and is working on Gandhi with Pratik Gandhi and Tom Felton, joins a growing number of voices calling for a more humane and sustainable work culture in Indian cinema.