16–18 Hours Is Unreasonable’: Pankaj Tripathi Joins Deepika Padukone in Calling Out Grueling Work Schedules

Deepika Padukone left Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s upcoming film Spirit a few weeks ago. Reports claim that Deepika, who recently gave birth to her beautiful daughter Dua, asked to limit her workday to eight hours. This clause was not accepted by the filmmaker. Now, actor Pankaj Tripathi also spoke about limiting work hours. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter India, he highlighted the need for setting boundaries at work. He said that he is learning to say no politely when these boundaries are crossed. He said that once the requirement is fulfilled or the job is done, it should be ok to stop and not overextend work.

He said that it is very difficult to politely say ‘no’, but he is practicing it now. He said, “I'm now working on saying 'no’. Because it should be clear to everyone where the line is—that this is it, and anything beyond it is a polite 'no'.”

He further recalled how exhausted he feels when the work hours keep getting stretched up to 18 hours. He said, “Kaam mein khiche jaa raha hai. 16 ghanta-18 ghanta ho gaya main laga hua hu. Main bol bhi raha hu, actor jaa chuka hai. Labour ruka hua hai. (The work hours are getting stretched. I am working 16–18 hours straight. I’m even saying, the actor has left, the labourers are still waiting.)"

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He then said that when he worked for long hours for many days, he decided that he would set certain boundaries. He said,  “Phir laga nahi, abhi toh aap vinamrata purvak bol dijiye ki ‘Nahi, itna hi hoga. Humne commit ye kiya tha, commitment humari poori ho gayi. Ab dhanyavaad. Jo bacha hai, kal karenge.’ (At this point, you should just politely say, ‘no, this is all that can be done. This is what we committed to, and we’ve fulfilled that commitment. Thank you. Whatever is left, we’ll do tomorrow.)"

Setting limits is crucial in all facets of life, not only while performing, he said in the conclusion.