'And they made it worse': Deepika Padukone after L&T backs SN Subrahmanyan's 'work on Sunday' remark
Mumbai/IBNS: Bollywood superstar Deepika Padukone, who had slammed Larsen and Toubro chairman SN Subrahmanyan's appeal to his employees to embrace working Sundays, has again responded after the company backed the controversial statement.
During an interaction, Subrahmanyan was addressing why employees of multi-billion-dollar conglomerates have to work even on Saturdays.
In a video which went viral on social media, the chairman was heard saying, "I regret I am not able to make you work on Sundays. If I can make you work on Sundays, I will be more happy because I work on Sundays."
He continued, "What do you do sitting at home? How long can you look at your wife? Come on, get to the office and start working."
“What do you do sitting at home? How long can you stare at your wife? How long can the wives stare at their husbands? Get to the office and start working.”
— Moneycontrol (@moneycontrolcom) January 9, 2025
L&T chairman advocates 90-hour work week, wants employees to work on Sundays too#LarsenToubro #CorporateJobs… pic.twitter.com/6MqSOtXaFE
Countering the remark, Deepika wrote in an Instagram story, "Shocking to see people in such senior positions make such statements. #mentalhealthmatters."
After Subrahmanyan's remark sparked an online debate over the work-life balance with several prominent personalities slamming the call, the L&T has jumped to a sort of damage control mode.
The company spokesperson said in a statement, "Nation-building is at the core of our mandate. For over eight decades, we have been shaping India’s infrastructure, industries, and technological capabilities. We believe this is India’s decade, a time demanding collective dedication and effort to drive progress and realise our shared vision of becoming a developed nation."
"The chairman's remarks reflect this larger ambition."
Countering the company, Deepika again wrote in an Instagram story, "And they just made it worse."
Quite similar to what Subrahmanyan said, Infosys co-founder and former CEO, Narayan Murthy had created a debate after proposing a 70-hour work per week for the economic growth of the country.
Murthy had underlined that he used to work for 85-90 hours every week till 1994.
The Infosys co-founder said he doesn't believe in work-life balance claiming "hard work" is more important than "work-life balance".
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