Is Bollywood ready for the 8-hour shift? Industry weighs in

In an manufacture that has agelong prided itself connected its unpredictability, relentless pace, and obsession with "the cleanable shot," the precise thought of a structured 8-hour shooting displacement erstwhile seemed laughable.

Bollywood shoots are notorious for their sprawling hours, delayed schedules, and spontaneous bursts of genius that onslaught astatine 3 a.m. alternatively than 3 p.m. But that norm is present being questioned.The flashpoint came erstwhile Deepika Padukone walked retired of Prabhas starrer Spirit, a movie by Kabir Singh and Animal manager Sandeep Reddy Vanga, owed to concerns implicit exhaustive shooting schedules. With motherhood present an integral portion of her life, the determination wasn't conscionable personal—it was symbolic of a generational shift.This ETimes diagnostic dives into the bosom of that question — asking not conscionable whether 8-hour shifts are feasible, but whether they’re indispensable for the wellness and aboriginal of Indian cinema. From ‘grind culture’ to ‘planned creativity’

The old-school pridefulness successful overwork — actors boasting astir hopping betwixt 3 sets a day, unit members sleeping successful vans, and nighttime shifts that past until sunrise — is progressively being seen not arsenic dedication, but arsenic dysfunction.Producer Anand Pandit believes it's precocious clip Bollywood sheds its aged skin. “We are mode past the epoch erstwhile stars utilized to enactment successful aggregate shifts and endure burnout,” helium says. “It is steadfast to enactment smarter than longer. Akshay Kumar, for instance, is known to enactment successful well-managed, crisp shifts and this is simply a signifier that is catching on.”

Pandit besides points retired that today’s actors—particularly younger ones—are acold much vocal astir boundaries, self-care, and intelligence wellness than their predecessors. “Each histrion volition reply differently. There is nary azygous rulebook, and that’s a bully thing. The information that we’re adjacent having this speech is progress,” helium adds.Money, momentum, and the story of much hours

One of the cardinal arguments against shorter shifts is economic. More days connected acceptable mean much rental costs, unit expenses, and time-sensitive logistics.

“Yes, less hours typically mean much sprout days, which tin summation budgets,” Pandit admits. “However, with tighter scheduling, bully pre-production, and minimal wastage, the emergence successful costs tin beryllium absorbed—or adjacent offset.”Kumar Sanu, who has experienced decades of Indian movie and euphony production, agrees that filmmaking is time-intensive. “It takes a batch of clip conscionable to acceptable up cameras oregon tweak the lighting. But actors and directors should beryllium looking retired for each other. Deepika being a caller mom—her concerns are valid.

Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s originative process is valid too. Both are close successful their ain ways.”He adds, "Budget and clip allotted tin enactment unit connected the originative team, but we besides person to spot that determination person been truly bully and enjoyable movies and truly atrocious movies made successful the aforesaid clip arsenic each other. Creativity is successful the caput of the filmmaking crew. Putting a fig to it doesn’t marque immoderate sense. It is babelike connected the originative squad and however overmuch clip they need.

If we marque a definite fig an manufacture standard, it mightiness impact immoderate and it mightiness not impact others.

Slandering oregon bashing actors oregon directors is not the mode to grip this debate."Creativity, Sanu points out, doesn’t obey the clock. “Some astonishing films were made successful abbreviated spans, and immoderate flops took forever. I recorded Kuch Na Kaho successful 9 minutes—it was a rehearsal—but it became a superhit. Time is not the deciding factor—mindset and preparedness are.”“The actors are pampered — it’s the unit we forget”

Director Rahul Dholakia introduces a captious furniture to the discussion—the unseen, unheard crew.“The airy men, spot boys, accumulation staff—they're the archetypal to get and the past to leave,” helium stresses. “Their telephone times are astatine slightest an hr earlier others, and sometimes 2 hours earlier than pb actors. If we shorten shifts without recalibrating for them, they’re the ones who endure most.”Dholakia recommends a 10-hour displacement model—with 8 hours of shooting and a 2-hour buffer.

“Lunch breaks successful India aren’t quick. People request their nashta, their chai. That eats into time. So accumulation has to compensate for that if we're superior astir shorter shifts.”He besides advocates for due turnaround time. “If you wrapper late, you request astatine slightest 10 hours earlier the adjacent day’s telephone time. Unfortunately, lone top-tier endowment gets that luxury close now.”Efficiency models from the South and beyondMultiple voices praise South Indian industries for their subject and professionalism.

“I person worked successful virtually each determination manufacture and everybody has a antithetic moving style. I judge the South-Indian industries are little wasteful with clip and resources. Everyone works with a definite subject and everybody's clip is respected. I cannot talk for Hollywood, but from what I person gathered, it is besides a precise well-structured industry,” says Pandit.Singer Kumar Sanu points to punctuality and preparedness arsenic the existent accumulation exemplary to emulate.

“Amitabh Bachchan was known for ever being connected clip and coming prepared. That’s what made shoots efficient—not conscionable the hours worked.”

Commenting connected work-life balance, Sanu said, "Work and beingness equilibrium is truly important. With Actresses particularly erstwhile they go mothers, we request to beryllium knowing and springiness them their comfortableness connected humanity ground. There are galore complications aft becoming a parent and each pistillate faces antithetic things.

Movies were being made successful the 50s and 60s erstwhile determination was deficiency of convenience, but they worked astir it. In today’s time, we person truthful overmuch convenience, radical should beryllium much knowing now.

" Mental wellness and the story of the tireless artist

Actor and writer Karan Razdan, who is presently moving connected Rajni 2.0, offers a lived acquisition of originative burnout. “Creativity really and genuinely lasts for a maximum of 8 hours. This is existent not lone connected the acceptable arsenic an histrion oregon manager but it applies to each the different technicians also.

Infact having been a writer, histrion and manager fto maine archer you that adjacent the writer's existent originative clip is restricted to conscionable a fewer hours. Now that I person started again successful Rajni 2.0 (the sequel of my deed amusement Rajni) one consciousness highly burnt retired aft 8-9 hours arsenic an actor.

And of people person ever felt it arsenic a manager too." Having straddled aggregate roles successful the industry, Razdan believes that shorter shifts could really heighten creator output.

“If those 8 hours are dedicated and focused, the results tin beryllium marvellous. Budget-wise too, it won’t interaction things excessively much.”For manager Mozez Singh, it boils down to balance—between beingness and work, bosom and hustle. “It’s truly important to person a work-life equilibrium due to the fact that it is beingness itself that feeds the work. And due remainder is the biggest substance for productivity.”He adds, “Actors person responsibilities extracurricular the set—young children, ageing parents, affectional health.

These aren’t afterthoughts. They indispensable beryllium portion of our scheduling discussions.”The fearfulness of the unknownStill, not everyone is acceptable to leap in. While galore admit the benefits, there’s fearfulness that rigid shifts could stifle spontaneity oregon thrust up costs.Sanu believes that an 8-hour displacement would negatively interaction the manufacture economically for those who enactment connected hourly ground oregon displacement basis, unless idiosyncratic has 1 of declaration past it’s affirmative for them. Pandit echoes the sentiment: “Flexibility is key. For climax scenes oregon analyzable setups, longer days are needed—and that should beryllium good if planned successful advance.”A hybrid way forward?

Nearly each stakeholders look to hold connected 1 solution: hybrid models. A premix of shorter and longer days, depending connected the scene, budget, and formed requirements.“Yes, I could spot that work,” Mozez Singh says. “Give much hours to high-stakes scenes, but different support to 8-hour norms.

That’s the lone mode to beryllium just to some the creation and the artist.”On the quality broadside of the debate, Rahul Dholakia shares a telling anecdote: “On 1 film, my histrion requested that helium enactment 10 hours connected acceptable and wrapper by 7 oregon 8 p.m. truthful helium could beryllium successful clip to spot his kids earlier they slept. That’s just — we person to grant that.”But to marque this each possible, the Raees manager says, the manufacture indispensable put much clip earlier the camera starts rolling: “A batch of however we sprout is organized — but a batch tin beryllium fixed.

How efficiently we bash that depends lone connected 1 thing: planning.”Kumar Sanu offers a last enactment of pragmatism: “If we rotate shifts well, it mightiness adjacent make much occupation opportunities. But it indispensable beryllium implemented thoughtfully—without hurting the regular workers.”A clip for reflectionThe 8-hour displacement statement isn’t astir hours alone. It’s astir respect—respect for time, health, family, and creator integrity. The speech sparked by Deepika Padukone’s departure from Spirit is not a rebellion; it’s a petition for reform.As Anand Pandit aptly puts it: “When we enactment smarter, we don’t person to enactment longer.”In the end, Bollywood whitethorn not beryllium acceptable for a clip clock, but it is decidedly acceptable for a reset.