Not sure if Katrina Kaif, Kiara Advani will be able to come back after motherhood, says Shobhaa De: ‘Different story with Alia Bhatt, Deepika Padukone’ | Bollywood News

4 min readMumbaiFeb 28, 2026 10:46 AM A wider conversation around working conditions in the film industry gathered momentum, sparked reports that Deepika Padukone requested an eight-hour work shift for projects such as Spirit and the upcoming sequel to Kalki 2898 AD. The discussion has drawn mixed reactions over the past year, with some celebrities endorsing the demand and others expressing scepticism. Now, column Shobhaa De has weighed in, suggesting that only a handful of top stars possess the influence to negotiate such terms.
‘Deepika Padukone, Priyanka Chopra can negotiate’
Speaking to Rediff Originals, she said, “Well, in that category, there’ll be Deepika Padukone, there’ll be Priyanka Chopra. I don’t see too many other girls being able to negotiate those kinds of terms. They’ll immediately be replaced and they’ll look for someone else. I mean, no one is going to care if Radhika Apte says, ‘I’ll only work for six hours or four hours or two hours or whatever’. Because at the end of it all, cinema is commerce. It has to bring in the money, it has to get people into theatres. And there are very few leading ladies who can achieve that.”
De added that while it is encouraging that the issue is being raised, meaningful change will take time. “Certainly Priyanka and Deepika are in that category. So they can afford to say it, and I’m sure it will change things gradually for the others. But so far, even Hollywood has not been able to crack that. The top stars in Hollywood can go on and on and on about the pay disparity and so on. They’ve been bleating about it for the last 10–15 years. But nothing has changed. Nothing.”
‘Not sure if Katrina Kaif will be able to make that leap after her ba’
In the same conversation, De also reflected on how motherhood affects the careers of leading actresses today. She expressed uncertainty about whether all new mothers in the industry would be able to resume their careers at the same level. “I’m not at all convinced or sure whether Katrina will be able to make that leap, after her ba. I’m not sure whether people will still look at Kiara Advani in the same way now that she’s a mother.”
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When the host cited examples such as Priyanka Chopra, Deepika Padukone and Alia Bhatt, who have continued to thrive professionally after becoming mothers, De responded, “These actresses that you’ve singled out are exceptional on screen, and they deliver in commercial terms. So it’s a different kind of story. I don’t think people think of motherhood when they look at Alia. And they’ve bounced back very quickly. They’re back in the game. They’re very much alive to their own possibilities and the kind of work they wish to do, and in a position to dictate that.”
Previously, in the same chat, De also spoke about actor Kartik Aaryan, describing him as “watchable.” She said, “He is very natural in his skin. There is a sense of purpose in the kind of roles he picks. He hasn’t received the success I think he deserves. I don’t know about his next film, it doesn’t look that promising to me, but he is one of the most underrated stars,” she said while referring to the horror-comedy Nagzilla, which Kartik is currently filming.