Kangana Ranaut backs Deepika Padukone in 8-hour workday row

In a shocking departure from their historically frosty public relationship, Kangana Ranaut has thrown full weight behind Deepika Padukone in her fight for an eight-hour working day. The feud, which had been going on for almost a year, started with Deepika quitting major projects such as Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s Spirit and Kalki 2898 AD sequel due to rejection of her terms by the producers.

Kangana Ranaut backs Padukone’s 8-hour workday call after Spirit exit

In a recent episode of her podcast, Kangana stated that Deepika has “earned the right to say” what she says now that she is no longer single but a mother of a little girl. In order for women to continue in the profession, Kangana stressed the need for changes that will help them cope with their two roles in society. Though Deepika and Kangana put up with long 12-to-14-hour days when building their careers, Kangana believes a top actress can no longer be considered interchangeable.

The problem extends beyond just acting, as per Kangana. Women should not be expected to juggle their demanding movie schedule and motherly duties. The criticism leveled against Deepika seems very much a reflection of deep-rooted gender stereotypes.

The issue made an abrupt shift in 2025 when the producers of the Kalki sequel alleged that the film needed an extent of “commitment” that was incompatible with Deepika’s demands. Yet, Kangana rejected these accusations, raising a query about how this amount of stress could affect women’s well-being and domestic lives.

Whereas Deepika’s decisions to leave Spirit and Kalki were met with criticism at first, the trend seems to be changing. Now, as big names in the industry, such as Kangana, advocate for the cause, the movement for family-friendly working conditions in Bollywood has reached a new height. Nevertheless, Deepika continues her career with the upcoming films by Siddharth Anand, namely King and Raaka.

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