Working Mothers In Film: Radhika Apte Raises Tough Questions

Recently, there’s been a lot of talk in Indian cinema about a controversy involving star actress Deepika Padukone and director Sandeep Reddy Vanga.

Reports say Deepika was approached to play the lead role in the film Spirit, but she had a few conditions. One of them was working only 8 hours a day so she could spend time with her newborn daughter. The makers couldn’t agree to her requests, so they decided to cast another actress instead.

At the same time, Bollywood actress Radhika Apte shared her thoughts about working after becoming a mother. She said the Indian film industry doesn’t support working mothers well.

In an interview, Radhika explained that typical workdays in India are at least 12 hours long, not including hair, makeup, or travel making it about 15-16 hours on most days.

She said she can’t work like that now, as it would leave her no time with her daughter. Radhika recently returned with her new film Sister Midnight.

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— Filmy Focus (@FilmyFocus) June 2, 2025