Kareena Kapoor defends Deepika Padukone’s stance on 8-hour workdays, says ‘understanding’ with the husband is essential: ‘Can’t leave kids alone’ | Bollywood News

3 min readChennaiMar 7, 2026 09:40 AM Kareena Kapoor and Ananya Panday recently spoke about the debate around Deepika Padukone demanding an eight-hour shift after she embraced motherhood. Both Kareena and Ananya came out in Deepika’s support and defended her demand. While Kareena spoke about her personal experience of managing films with two young sons, Ananya defended Deepika, saying that she has demanded fixed working hours only after becoming a mother.
During an interaction with The Hollywood Reporter, Kareena was asked about the dilemma actresses, who are also new moms, face when trying to manage personal life and a demanding schedule. Taking the example of her film The Buckingham Murders, she said, “For that I had to be in London for 35 days. So I decided to shoot where I would go and come back because we had Diwali in between, so we planned it in such a way. I just feel everything needs to be really well planned and you have to be very clear right from the beginning.”
She added, “This is because I have two children I need to come back. They need to shoot other portions while I come back to visit my kids and then I go back and finish the rest of the film. The makers were kind enough to understand that and I am also lucky that when I am doing the film, Saif is with the children. When you are in a marriage, you need to have a partner and an understanding with him/her because we both can’t be working and leave the children alone. It is an understanding.”
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Ananya also defended Deepika and shared that the actress would never question the working hours before she had her daughter. However, after having Dua, it is understandable that she needs time with her toddler. “It’s actually the phase in your life when you are just a new mother, then of course, you want to still work. People used to say ‘women can’t work after marriage or after giving birth to children’, it is because you need an environment to support that.”
She added, “If Deepika is the topic of conversation… I have worked with her before she became a mother. There was no such thing like that (8-hour shift). She was working, coming for workshops, no complaints, no asking for anything in that sort of way, and now she is a mother, and this is what she needs, to be present with her child during the first two years.”
Ananya also lauded Kareena for setting an example for others and working despite being a new mother. “Kareena did that. She changed the game for all the girls coming after her. I think it’s okay to have a conversation with your producer to find the balance. It is something that can be worked around. There is no hard and fast rule,” she said.Story continues below this ad
For the unversed, Deepika walked out of two high-profile projects like Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s Spirit and the sequel of Kalki 2898 AD after her 8-hour shift demand and other demands weren’t met.