Kiara Advani joins eight-hour workday debate, highlights need for balance after embracing motherhood

Kiara Advani talks about eight hour work debate

Actress Kiara Advani is making a comeback to movies after welcoming her daughter earlier this year and the discussion of restricting working hours is now very personal.

Kiara, 34, echoed similar concerns recently raised by fellow actor Deepika Padukone and others in the industry.

Having welcomed her daughter, Saraayah, in July this year, she has found herself reassessing how work fits into her life.

Speaking to Vogue about the widely debated idea of eight-hour workdays, she put it simply: “burnout helps no one in any industry.”

Kiara Advani explained that three principles now sit at the heart of her working life, guiding how she interacts with everyone around her, from crew members on set to those at home.

Those values, she said, are “Dignity. Balance. Respect.” For her, they are not abstract ideals but practical necessities for creating an environment where people can do their best work without sacrificing their health.

The wider debate gained fresh momentum after reports emerged that Deepika Padukone had stepped away from two major projects, Spirit and Kalki 2, allegedly over her request for more reasonable working hours.

For Kiara Advani, motherhood has also brought a shift in creative focus. She revealed that as a result of her marriage to actor Sidharth Malhotra, she is now very much into looking for new scripts and is particularly attracted to a biopic that is going to be her next project.

Details may still be a bit sketchy, but the conversation did cause a lot of important questions about the entertainment industry treatment of women performers, particularly women returning to work after childbirth.

Yet her decision-making process has changed. She explained that she now chooses scripts based on the soul of the story, and that it’s not about the genre any more.

More than anything, Kiara Advani spoke about clarity — a sense of knowing what matters and what does not. She has a new clarity and drive, but also makes sure to prioritise mental health - hers and others’.

Also Read: Kiara Advani’s first photoshoot post motherhood evokes old-world charm

Earlier, Deepika Padukone reflected on similar themes in an interview with Harper’s Bazaar India, speaking openly about how motherhood reshaped her boundaries at work.

She challenged the industry’s long-standing culture of overwork, saying, “We’ve normalised overworking. We mistake burnout for commitment. Eight hours of work a day is enough for the human body and mind. Only when you’re healthy can you give your best. Bringing a burnt-out person back into the system helps no one. In my own office, we work eight hours a day, Monday to Friday. We have maternity and paternity policies. We should normalise bringing children to work.”