Deepika Padukone's fight over eight hour shifts has outlasted the search rankings

The claim that Deepika Padukone is the most searched Indian actor of the decade rests on a single dataset, and that dataset is now more than two years old.

IMDb published its list of the 100 Most Viewed Indian Stars of the Last Decade in May 2024. Variety reported it in its Global Bulletin at the time: Padukone first, Shah Rukh Khan second, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan third, with Alia Bhatt and the late Irrfan Khan completing the top five. The ranking was compiled from IMDb's own weekly page view data between January 2014 and April 2024, drawn from what the company describes as more than 250 million monthly visitors.

Two qualifications follow. The list measures page views on one film database, not searches across the internet. And it stopped counting in April 2024, which means it says nothing about her position in the two years since.

What has actually happened to her career in that period is an argument about working hours, and it has cost her two of the largest films in India.

In May 2025 Indian outlets reported that Padukone sought an eight hour working day on Sandeep Reddy Vanga's film Spirit and left the project. Neither she nor the producers confirmed the reason publicly, and it remains a reported account rather than an established one.

The second exit was confirmed by the producer. In September 2025 Vyjayanthi Movies, which made Kalki 2898 AD, posted a statement saying Padukone "will not be a part of the upcoming sequel", that "after careful consideration, we have decided to part ways", and that "despite the long journey of making the first film, we were unable to find a partnership". Gulf News and others reported it. Padukone had played Sumati in the 2024 original.

By mid 2026 the dispute had stopped being about one actor. Agence France-Presse reported on 2 June 2026 that Indian film production was openly divided over whether shooting days should be capped at eight hours, noting that shifts commonly run 12 to 18 hours and occasionally longer than a full day.

The AFP report set out both sides. Suniel Shetty, Kajol, the actor Ram Kapoor and the director Shekhar Kapur supported the change. Kapoor put the argument in terms of leverage: "Once you have achieved success in showbiz, then, yes, you are in a position to choose how many hours you want to work." Kapur framed it as a right rather than a privilege of stardom, saying everyone should have the privilege to define the hours they want to work.

Against them, the actor Ali Fazal argued that "this is not like a corporate job" given how project demands vary, and Chitrangda Singh pointed to weather and equipment failures as scheduling realities. Amit Behl, a former office holder in an actors' association, put a number on the pressure: a bungalow used on the set of the film Animal cost 25 lakh rupees, about US$26,300, a day.

Supporters of reform told AFP that the burden falls unevenly, and that women who raise it are labelled pushy or difficult in a way male stars are not. That is what the Padukone case has come to stand for, and it is a more consequential story than a page view ranking.

Her standing is otherwise undiminished. The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce named her to the Hollywood Walk of Fame class of 2026 on 3 July 2025, the first Indian actress selected, as The National reported. The star has not yet been dedicated; recipients have two years from selection to schedule a ceremony. She is due to appear opposite Shah Rukh Khan in King, directed by Siddharth Anand and scheduled for 24 December 2026, and in a film with Allu Arjun directed by Atlee.

The unresolved question is whether anything binding follows. India has no enforceable cap on film shooting hours, no producers' body has adopted one, and the AFP reporting describes an argument rather than a negotiation. Until a production actually contracts to an eight hour day and holds to it, Padukone will have changed the conversation without changing the call sheet.