TV industry is a 'jungle raj': How erratic and long working hours are taking a toll on actors’ life

Have you ever wondered what goes into the making of a grand period drama? It takes a lot more than what you see on your television screens. Not only a larger-than-life set, elaborate costumes, bright studio lights and VFX… it also includes an actor’s 22-23 hours from his daily life. Actors have recently raised their concerns over working more than their stipulated time, losing out on sleep and being physically drained. By: Divya Kaushik

A few months ago the set of the period drama Khoob Ladi Mardaani: Jhansi Ki Rani was moved from Aamgaon, which is a two-hour drive from Mumbai, to Mira Road. The change in the location had nothing to do with infrastructure or budget. Instead, it was adopted to allow the cast of the show – that was shooting for 17-18 hours per day – to get some extra sleep.

"My health started deteriorating and my body was not able to cope with the constant lack of sleep. I feared that my body would just break down one day and I wouldn’t be able to shoot at all. It was then that I put my foot down and told the producers that I will only return to the set after a gap of 12 hours."

“My first day of shoot was 22-23 hours long,” recounts Vikas Manaktala, one of the leads of Jhansi Ki Rani. The actor says that if you are working in a daily soap, you should stop keeping count of working hours. Like Vikas, there are other actors too who have accepted that the rule that actors will work only for 12 hours is something that only exists on papers.

While many envy TV actors for their pay cheques, their working hours are nothing to be jealous of. Plot twists and maha episodes to keep the audience glued and TRPs high add to the daily pressure and working hours. Worst is the condition of actors who are shooting for costume dramas. Pic for representation purpose only.

Maintaining anonymity, an actor from a mythological show explained his harrowing experience. He said, “How would I look good on screen when I am not even getting five hours of sleep? There came a point when I had to ask my producers to come up with a solution to this. If we are shooting for 12 hours, I have to be on sets at least two hours before for makeup. Even in between shots, some hours go in touch ups. No one takes accountability for those extra hours. For producers I am still shooting for 12 hours and would be paid accordingly.” Pic for representation purpose only.

Actors who have had some years of experience now know make sure that they only shoot for the number of hours mentioned in their contracts. “The new actors are lured in by makers with the promise of being paid for overtime. These actors are not in a position to complain and some are not even paid for extra hours that they spend on sets,” says Jason, adding that Jhansi Ki Rani is his last show on TV. “Your body suffers a lot when you do one daily soap,” he says.

Kinshuk Vaidya, who has worked in mythological show KarnSangini, says that actors should be paid for every extra hour that they are made to shoot. He feels that when it comes to working for long hours, things haven’t changed much. “I have friends who tell me that they shot for 24 hours in a day. On some shows actors are shooting till the morning for an episode that is to go on air the same day. I have been lucky so far to not be in such a situation, but yes, in case of daily soaps this is what usually happens,” he says.

Cine & TV Artists Association (CINTAA) always gets a steady stream of complaints from actors regarding no payment for overtime or extended working hours. “No one follows any rules when it comes to working hours,” says actor Sushant Singh, General Secretary, CINTAA, adding, “Recently, we got a complaint from an actor where producers made him shoot for 24 hours and were only paying him for the 12 hours mentioned in his contract. We keep getting complaints, but most of them are anonymous. We have been trying for years to have fixed rules for this, but no one follows any rules when it comes to shoot timings. It’s jungle raj, that’s the only way I can describe it,” he says.

Aniruddh Dave, who was a part of Suryaputra Karn, adds, “In case of period dramas, four additional hours (apart from 12 hours of shooting) are spent on makeup and that makes it to almost 16-hour shift for actors each day. As a solution to this problem, which was pointed out by actors after their health was deteriorating, some producers now have multi-camera set ups.”

Long distance travelling to the sets and juggling between two shows are also glaring examples of actors draining out themselves. Kundali Bhagya actor Dheeraj Dhoopar, who was all set to host Dance India Dance season 7 but opted out of it. The actor said, “I was excited about hosting DID, but managing two shows drained me physically and mentally. I am not complaining about the long hours, but it would leave me without any weekly off. Also, I need to focus on other commitments. I hope that in the future, too, I get such good opportunities.” By: Tanvi Trivedi