Deepika Padukone has been facing plenty of flak after reports emerged about her quitting Sandeep Reddy Vanga's Spirit and Nag Ashwin's Kalki 2898 AD sequel due to schedule conflicts. Since then, a section of the nation's population has been calling her demands for an 8-hour workday unreasonable. In fact, when Aamir Khan made certain claims about actors' unreasonable demands to producers, many memes started surfacing online with Deepika's name attached to the former's statements. Amid all this, an old video where Deepika batted for more downtime for crew members is doing the rounds on the internet. In a past conversation, journalist Anupama Chopra asked Deepika about the differences she wanted to see in the film industry from the perspective of a producer. In her response as a producer, Deepika said that she would like to see different work hours for cast and crew members. She underscored the significance of how working with sufficient breaks in between led to a better output as opposed to long, busy schedules. Essentially, she championed 'smart work' as opposed to 'hard work'.

In the conversation, Deepika also supported working for five days, like how they do in the West. "You keep your Saturdays for any kind of preps or discussions that actors need to do or any kind of technical prep that needs to be done. On a Sunday, nobody even calls you or messages you (regarding work)."

Deepika also reminded the audience of the privilege that actors have in relation to crew members. She said that actors take on 12-hour workdays because they feel like an essential part of the film and could get all the perks that come with it, such as awards and rewards, while it is not the same for crew members. "The crew members come in much earlier and leave much later." She highlighted the importance of compensating crew members if work hours cross the agreed-on schedule for any reason as well as serving "nutritious food" to them.

Many have been supporting Deepika's views, including those from within and beyond the entertainment industry. Up next, the actor has King, with co-star Shah Rukh Khan and director Siddharth Anand.