Filmmaker Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri has ignited a fierce debate on Bollywood’s punishing 12-hour shooting schedules, branding them a direct threat to creative vitality. Speaking out, he compared the industry’s rhythm to a relentless factory, where marathon workdays leave talents physically broken and imaginatively barren.
The core issue, per Agnihotri, is treating art like assembly-line labor. ‘After hours of prosthetics and makeup, bodies rebel—energy crashes, focus fades,’ he explained. Producers chase savings by extending shoots, exploiting a workforce unfamiliar with labor protections in a resource-scarce nation.
He posed rhetorical questions: ‘Demand 12 hours of continuous painting from an artist or singing from a vocalist—impossible without burnout.’ Reality in Mumbai? Shifts extend to 14 hours, plus travel, totaling exhaustion marathons. Actors, eternally camera-ready, can’t fake freshness when depleted.
From personal trenches, Agnihotri revealed, ‘One long day wipes my creative slate clean; mental and emotional reserves evaporate.’ He advocated for industry-wide dialogues involving unions to enforce humane hours. The stakes are high: sustained reform is key to healthier teams and cinematic masterpieces, breaking free from factory fetters.