After Deepika Padukone, AMMA president Shwetha Menon opens up on fixed working hours on set: 'Did four films when I was pregnant'

When Deepika Padukone eventually wasn't a part of Prabhas starrer 'Spirit', several reports suggested that it was because some demands put by the actress which didn't go well with director Sandeep Reddy Vanga. It was being said that one of the demands of Deepika was 8-hour work shift, now that she's a mother.

This led to a whole new discussion and several actors have weighed in on the issue.

And now the first woman president of Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA), Shwetha Menon has spoken about it. She said at the India Today event, "Most issues can be solved through dialogue, but people often avoid it. Even when I was AMMA’s first female vice-president, I would urge women to share their problems but none of them would. I won’t blame them.

Everyone is worried about their careers. But slowly, we will bring these issues to light.”She further recalled the time when she was pregnant. "I did four films while pregnant. I informed my directors that I wasn’t comfortable with early morning shoots, and they understood.”Earlier, Deepika has spoken about having a work-life balance. She had said during a chat with Film Companion, "Somehow, in our country, including the corporate world, taking leaves or wanting time for yourself carries a connotation of being unprofessional, not hardworking or driven enough. And I disagree. You can be all of those things and still make time for yourself. How are you going to replenish and put energy back into your work if you don’t?”She added, "Streamlining the hours that we work, especially for the crew. There is this sense that if you make people work extra and continuously, you get it done faster. My thinking is the exact opposite, people need to be given enough downtime and rest so that they come back with better energy. That’ll help you work faster and better the quality of your work too.”