Veteran actress Shefali Shah has opened up about the ongoing debate around fixed working hours in the Indian entertainment industry, revealing her own struggles for basic workplace dignity and how she's often made to feel guilty for demanding reasonable working conditions.
The Turning Point: Delhi Crime Success
In a candid conversation with News18, Shah disclosed that only after the massive success of her web series Delhi Crime did she gain the confidence to demand fixed working hours on her projects. "After all this time, after Delhi Crime, after me headlining a show, now I get what I ask for. Earlier, it was out of the question," the acclaimed actress revealed.
She emphasized how her approach has evolved over time: "For the longest time, I didn't have any agent. Now I have someone with me who is very fierce and she goes all out to protect me. Also, now there is a thing of if this is not possible then I will not do the project. Earlier, whatever they say, I agreed."
The Guilt Trip Over Basic Demands
Shah shared a revealing incident involving her husband and producer Vipul Shah, who had to intervene to ensure she didn't overwork herself. "Recently, Vipul Shah was talking to my assistant and told her that she has to get me out of the set after the agreed time because I can't shoot for 24 hours. He told her, 'She has to be taken out of there. She has to be physically moved out'," she recounted.
The actress expressed frustration about being made to feel guilty for her reasonable demands. "I am still made to feel guilty about it in certain ways," she admitted, highlighting the industry's resistance to change.
What Constitutes Basic Needs?
Shefali Shah detailed what she considers basic requirements that are often misinterpreted as luxury demands. "I believe I am a very reasonable person. I ask for basic things and there is a logic when I ask for things. You need a good room or a suite. But they ask 'why do you need a suite?' Because my hair, makeup everything is set up over there," she explained.
The actress provided practical reasoning behind her requests: "In a hotel room, where is the space beyond the bed? So where will I keep all of these things. You want to do creative meetings with me? Where will I sit? On my bed? Would you allow it? It's a basic thing. But people see it as luxury. If not that give me an office space where I can do my trials."
Advocating for Her Team
Shah emphasized that her demands often extend to ensuring comfort for her entire team, something many actors overlook. "When I'm asking for a vanity van, I am asking it not just for myself, but also for my team. I don't like my team standing outside in the heat or the rain. A lot of actors don't care, but I don't like it," she stated.
The actress revealed instances where she had to personally cover expenses for her team members. "If I am on shoot, and the producer says that I will only pay for your food, then I say okay and I give my card. I don't want discussion about it because it is not worth my effort."
Interestingly, Shah discovered that her insistence on fixed working hours benefits the entire crew. "I was shooting a few months ago, and there is a stipulated time on my contract, so I used to leave and I remember after 2-3 days an AD and some crew members said that 'thank God, she leaves because that way we get to go home, otherwise we are just here, we live on the set'."
Connection to Deepika Padukone's Stand
Shefali Shah's comments come amid an industry-wide discussion sparked by Deepika Padukone's demand for eight-hour shifts. Padukone recently exited high-profile projects including the sequel to Kalki 2898 AD and Sandeep Reddy Vanga's Spirit over her insistence on reasonable working hours.
In her interview with Brut India, Padukone had stated: "I don't think what I am asking for is ridiculously unfair and I think only someone who has worked in the system enough will know the conditions that we work in. I am not the first one who has asked for something like this. In fact, there are a lot of actors, male actors, who have been working on a 8-hour shift for years and it's never made headlines."
The convergence of voices from established actresses like Shah and Padukone signals a growing movement toward better working conditions in the Indian entertainment industry, challenging long-standing practices that have often prioritized production schedules over artist welfare.
