Amid Deepika Padukone's 8-hour shift demand, Sonakshi Sinha says 'work-life balance is very good in Tollywood': 'They work only for a...'

Sonakshi Sinha, who made her Telugu cinema debut with supernatural thriller “Jatadhara”, has praised the industry for being disciplined and providing a healthy work-life balance.

“Jatadhara”, directed by Abhishek Jaiswal and Venkat Kalyan, is headlined by Sudheer Babu and also features Shilpa Shirodkar in a pivotal role.

Asked what’s the difference between the working culture of Hindi and Telugu industries, Sinha said the sets in the south are “a bit more disciplined”. “There are not many differences but their timings are very good, very sorted. They work only for a particular number of hours. Work-life balance is very good over there, which is something that we can definitely learn from them,” Sonakshi told PTI in an interview.

The actor said in the Hindi film industry, shoots go on for hours.

“(In the south) if you come for a shoot at 9, you cannot shoot after 6. You are not allowed. I think that is something that is really nice about that. It’s a bit more disciplined, I would say,” she added.

Sinha, who collaborated with superstar Rajinikanth in 2014 for Tamil film “Lingaa”, is excited about her Telugu debut and hopes to work in more movies from different language cinemas going forward.

“I’ve done one Tamil film (‘Lingaa’) before and now doing this Telugu film. I’m very open to it. I don’t think language is a barrier anymore. And I would love to explore more (regional cinema). I have always been open to it. It wasn’t that I was saying ‘No’. I’ve been offered so many regional films in different languages. But I’ve been busy with my commitments over here (Hindi cinema). They never kind of worked out.” According to the official logline, the supernatural horror investigates the enigma of Anantha Padmanabha Swamy Temple, examining myths and theories about its alleged supernatural powers.

The actor, known for “Dabangg”, “Lootera”, “Akira”, “Happy Phir Bhag Jayegi” and “Khandaani Shafakhana”, will be seen in the role of antagonist Dhanpisachini in the film.

Sinha, also known for her streaming shows “Dahaad” and “Heeramandi”, said she considers herself a director’s actor.

“I (follow) my directors’ vision as they’ve stayed with the film longer. They’ve been a part of the writing process, so they have an idea. And as an actor, it’s my job to execute that. If I feel that there’s a need for my input, if I want to play it a certain way or do something different, I say it. But mostly, I try to follow what my director’s vision is. Venkat sir had given me complete freedom.

“When the first shot happened, I know he (director) was a bit nervous… I had never done anything like this before so he wasn’t sure what to expect. And the minute the first shot happened; I saw childlike happiness in his eyes. He was like, ‘this is my Dhanapisachani’,” she said.

“Jatadhara” also features actors Divya Khossla, Shilpa Shirodkar, Indira Krishna, Ravi Prakash, Naveen Neni, Rohit Pathak, Jhansi, Rajeev Kanakala and Subhalekha Sudhakar, and released in both Telugu and Hindi.

The film is produced by Umesh Kumar Bansal, Shivin Narang, Aruna Agarwal, Prerna Arora, Shilpa Singhal, and Nikhil Nanda and co-produced by Akshay Kejriwal and Kussum Arora and released in theatres on November 7.