'Animal' and 'Pushpa' fame Rashmika Mandanna on working hours debate amid Deepika Padukone-Sandeep Vanga fallout: 'In south, we work from...'

After exiting from Sandeep Reddy Vanga-Prabhas’ biggie Spirit, the latest reports suggest that the actress has taken the same step for Kalki 2898 AD 2.

While the fiasco between  Deepika and Vanga  has been garnering headlines for quite some time, a new report has emerged discussing the actress’s demands for Spirit.

“The actor had reportedly demanded ₹25 crores for approximately 35 days of shoot, along with a 10% profit share, extensive entourage expenses, and even expressed unwillingness to deliver dialogues in Telugu—something the director felt strongly about. To top it off, confidential plot details from Spirit were allegedly leaked, which raised serious concerns among the producers," the source told News18.

The debate has intensified as more and more actors are commenting on it. The latest one is Rashmika Mandanna.

In an interview with Barkha Dutt, the actress said, “I do work in multiple industries which is for example, in the South – Telugu industry, Kannada industry, or Tamil industry, we work 9 am to 6 pm, like it’s our office hours. After shoot, we spend time with family, we go to sleep and we head to shoot the next day. In Hindi, I’ve realised it’s a 9 am to 9 pm shift. It’s 12 working hours so now as an actor, I am open to both of these working hours because this is what my firm requires.”

She added, “Today the whole country is debating about flexible hours and everything, but that is for discussion amongst the teams and figure out what works for them. It’s their personal choices, so that’s what I believe in. I feel like every film have to have that discussion and to be open to how many hours in the day they want to work.”

According to the report, Sandeep “believes actors speaking their own lines”. “Contrary to speculation, her restricted filming schedule of under 8 hours a day was never the primary issue. In filmmaking, working hours are fluid and depend on location, lighting, and various technical factors. You could shoot for 2 hours or 8, depending on the scene. What truly matters is flexibility, collaboration, and respect for the craft. It’s about commitment. Director Sandeep Reddy Vanga believes actors speaking their own lines builds authenticity and emotional connect with the audience," the source added.