Kantara: Chapter 1 director and actor Rishab Shetty recently spoke about how he manages his film sets with compassion and equality. In an interview, he spoke about how he makes sure women, particularly new mothers, are cared for and provided for during shoots.
Adapting Schedules and Providing for Emergencies on Set for Women
Shetty underlined the fact that all legitimate demands made by actresses are dealt with carefully. “If there is an emergency for an actress, we make arrangements for it. Whether she wants to shoot a scene at a specific hour or not, we set the schedule according to her wish,” he explained. The idea is to have a smooth workflow without placing anyone under forced pressure.
Taking Care of the Health Needs for Everyone
He further added that medical concerns and individual needs are always addressed at his shoots. “Regardless of gender, there’s no discrimination. Everyone’s workflow is the same. If there’s any health issue, it’s resolved on time – there’s nothing unequal about it,” Shetty clarified.
Family Experience During Shooting
Taking his own family into consideration, Shetty explained how his wife, Pragathi Shetty, kept working while pregnant during Kantara (2022). “She gave birth while we were still shooting. We took a break for 15–20 days and then resumed shooting. By the time we began the second part of the film, our baby girl was two years old,” he remembered.
Early Morning Shoots and New Moms
Shetty also discussed how difficult shoots are in the early morning, sometimes as early as 3:30–4 am, since they prefer the golden light for the shot, particularly when shooting on actual locations. Despite such timings, he makes sure new mothers or specially abled women are afforded adequate flexibility. He further added, “We wake up in the early morning at 3:30-4 am, take the actors to the set, get them made up, and roll out by 6 am. That also happens because we have to catch shots in golden light. That part is never compromised.”
Rishab Shetty’s method is eliciting appreciation everywhere on the internet and calling attention to increased sensitivity in the film industry to providing comfortable and welcoming spaces for everyone in order to make shooting timetables bearable and seamless. By fine-tuning timetables and making adjustments for emergencies, he shows the way that production sets can be made more women-friendly without impacting work.
