Keerthy Suresh explains in detail a day in the life of an actor, why Deepika Padukone's 8 hour shift demand is ideal

After Deepika Padukone reportedly walked out of films due to work shift demands, Keerthy Suresh explains why it's ideal to have such shifts.

Ever since Deepika Padukone’s exit from Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s Spirit and Nag Ashwin’s Kalki 2898 AD sequel, there has been a lot of conversation around work shifts. While promoting her upcoming film Revolver Rita in Hyderabad, Keerthy Suresh explained why work shifts in the film industry are ideal for actors and technicians. Here’s what she said.

Keerthy Suresh backed Deepika Padukone in her demand for 8-hour shifts.

A day in the life of an actor, as explained by Keerthy Suresh

Keerthy told the press that she has worked various shifts throughout her career, sometimes even from 9 AM to 2 AM the next day. While shooting for Mahanati, she also worked on five other films, she revealed. But, she stated that for health reasons, it would be ideal to have an 8-hour shift.

Explaining what a day looks like for most actors, she said, “For a 9 o’clock shift, if I have to be there by 7:30 AM, I have to start from home at 6:30 AM and wake up by 5:30 AM. And when you pack up by 6-6:30 PM, you leave by 7 PM to go back and change. By the time you reach back home, it’s 8:15 PM. We change and go to work out by 8:30 PM, and by the time you’re done, it’s 10 PM. You shower, have dinner, and it’s already 11 PM. Now, I have to wake up at 5:30 AM after sleeping at 11:30 PM.”

Why an 8-hour work shift is ideal for technicians

Keerthy then spoke about how in Malayalam and Hindi, actors and technicians work longer hours with less time to sleep. “We say 8 hours of sleep is good, but we hardly get to sleep for 6 hours. And this is in an ideal 9-6 shift. Imagine us shooting for more hours, imagine the technicians reaching sets before and packing up after us,” she explained, adding, “In Tamil and Telugu, we usually have a standard of 9-6. But in Malayalam and Hindi, they work for 12 hours. In Malayalam, they work without breaks in continuous schedules, and it’s difficult. They sleep 3-4 hours, and lightmen in Kerala sleep 2-3 hours. However, sleep is just as important as food or exercise.”

Recently, Rashmika Mandanna also spoke about this while promoting The Girlfriend and stated that while she has also worked long hours it’s ideal for health reasons to have proper work shifts.