Ram Kapoor reflects on the 8-hour shift debate after Deepika Padukone's exit from Sandeep Reddy Vanga's 'Spirit': 'Once you have achieved success in showbiz...'

Time of India

3 days ago

Ever since
Deepika Padukone
's exit from Prabhas starrer 'Spirit', there's a debate around the long work shifts. As per reports, one of the demands made by Deepika was an eight-hour shift as she's now balancing motherhood with work after the birth of her daughter Dua.
This has started a discussion and several celebs have weighed in on the matter.
Now
Ram Kapoor
has shared his views and recalled the long working hours in television, however, once he achieved that popularity, he could make a choice. He said during a chat with Firstpost, 'Once you have achieved success in showbiz, whether as a star, as an actor, and people want to work with you, then, yes, you are in a position to choose how many hours you want to work.
I have been in that position for many years. Even when I was doing TV, I used to decide how many hours I want to work.
So I've been lucky. Anybody who reaches a level where he doesn't have to find work is in that position to choose how many hours he or she wants to work. However, most of us actors, myself, of course, and I know a lot of my colleagues, we know that when we sign on a project, we have to do that project to the best that we can, because that's what it's all about.'
He added further, 'When I was doing television, I said I would only work eight hours a day because television was nonstop, there were no seasons. It was every single day of every single month for three years, four years, five years. However, his approach shifted with time and the nature of projects. But now, when I'm doing a film, I'm doing an OTT show, like for Mistry, there were times I was working 14 hours a day, 16 hours a day.
But it was only for four months.'
Ram added that he feels privileged for getting to do what he wants to do. 'I'm very lucky that I'm getting to do whatever I want to do, then I don't want to restrict myself. I have no reason to complain. This industry is very challenging. The hours are definitely too long. What they are saying, they are right in their own thinking, I'm only saying that I feel very lucky, very blessed, that I have achieved so much in this line, which is very difficult,' he said.
This is why he doesn't complain. He said, 'And that is why I don't choose to complain about anything. I just want to stay in a state of happiness where I know how lucky I am. So you don't get into that negative frame of mind of complaining. You know what I'm saying? But that's just for me. It doesn't mean that I'm right and they are wrong.'