Mani Ratnam reacts to Deepika Padukone's 8-hour shifts demand after she quits Sandeep Reddy Vanga's Spirit: 'You will take that...'

Deepika Padukone's reported exit from the film Spirit has been a hot topic lately. According to reports, she had requested not to work more than eight hours a day during the shoot. This condition apparently didn’t go well with the filmmakers.

Meanwhile, director Mani Ratnam has addressed the ongoing debate around work hours and actor demands. In a recent interview with News18, he expressed his support for Deepika.  Backing her stance, he said that if someone is in a position to set such terms, it's fair.

Ahead of the release of his upcoming film Thug Life, Mani Ratnam spoke about the ongoing debate and said, “I think it is a rightful demand. I’m glad she’s in a position to ask for it. I think as a filmmaker, you will consider that when you cast. It is not an unreasonable thing to ask, but an absolute necessity. I think that should be the priority. You have to acknowledge that, understand it and work around it.”

Earlier, actor Ajay Devgn had also shown his support for Deepika on this matter and said, "It's not that it is not going down well with people. A lot of people understand. Most of the honest filmmakers would not have a problem with it. Also, other than new moms working for 8 hours, most people have started working for 8 hours. I think it's person-to-person, and most of the industry understands."

For the unversed, "After Deepika was dropped and was replaced by Triptii Dimri, there were reports that Deepika quit the Prabhas-starrer due to its bold scenes. Vanga found it distasteful, and he labelled the articles expressing her views as 'dirty PR game'. Vanga took his thoughts to X, and without naming her, Kabir Singh director, wrote, "When I narrate a story to an actor, I place 100% faith. There is an unsaid NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement) between us. But by doing this, you’ve ‘DISCLOSED’ the person that you are…Putting down a Younger actor and ousting my story? Is this what your feminism stands for? As a filmmaker, I put years of hard work behind my craft & for me, filmmaking is everything. You didn’t get it. You won’t get it. You will never get it. Aisa karo…. Agli baar poori kahani bolna… kyunki mujhe jarra bhi farak nahi padtha. #dirtyPRgames. I like this kahawath very much. खुंदक में बिल्ली खंबा नोचे!”