The Indian television industry is infamous for its long workdays. Several actors, who have endured long shifts in this setting, have talked about the negative effects working in this environment have caused on their physical and mental well-being. Recently, Prachi Desai, who started her in the television show Kasamh Se, made an appearance on Bharti Singh and Haarsh Limbachiyaa’s YouTube channel, where the trio discussed their experience working in the television industry. 

Bharti Singh-Haarsh Limbachiyaa on their television work experience

Haarsh stated that he has seen several people suffering from a heart attack which is caused by their unhealthy lifestyle they had to follow because of their taxing work schedules. The writer said, “I have seen so many directors, and creative people getting heart attacks, and many other health issues because you are not sleeping at all. You are smoking and drinking tea the whole time. Eating the same food that’s available on set. You are suffering from acidity and you can’t control it.”

Bharti added that she has seen actresses on set with a drip on their arm as they don’t have the time to go home and rest. Prachi chimed in that when she was working in the TV industry she never got to get enough sleep and had to rely on coffee to stay awake on set. 

Haarsh later added that things have changed significantly since then. He noted that for non-fiction shows, producers strive to complete filming within the allotted shifts, but even in those cases, additional shooting is typically limited to a few hours. According to Haarsh, things have changed significantly since then. He noted that for non-fiction shows, producers strive to complete filming within the allotted shifts, but even if the shifts are extended, it is typically limited to a few hours.

Other television actors who spoke about the toxic set environment 

In the past, celebrities like Charu Asopa, Vikrant Massey, Juhi Parmar, Radhika Madan, and Karan Kundra have all talked about spending days on end filming their TV shows without leaving the set. Radhika also added that directors were very entitled and once the flow of the shoot or set was confirmed, they would rearrange it, and whosoever was available would show up to shoot. She said that the director would always shut her up whenever she tried to say anything about her character.