Mumbai: When Shriya Saran returned to the Drishyam franchise after becoming a mother, the production did not treat her schedule as an inconvenience. It adjusted around her. Her first reading for Drishyam 2 was planned to coincide with her daughter’s sleep time, and she was often wrapped early — sometimes before the film’s lead, Ajay Devgn.
Small changes, meaningful signal
Speaking to India Today, Saran said the team remained mindful of her commitments as a new parent. “My daughter was eight months old when I did Drishyam 2. And in Part 3, of course, she’s older. But they were very supportive,” she said.
Saran recalled that the unit would send her home early, adding that the gesture was framed as care rather than a concession. “After the shoot, they used to send me off earlier, sometimes even before Ajay sir,” she said.
A wider conversation about working mothers
The account lands in the middle of an industry-wide discussion about whether Hindi film sets can become more accommodating for working mothers. Actors including Deepika Padukone, Kajal Aggarwal and Parineeti Chopra have spoken about the tension between production schedules and parenting, with Padukone’s call for an eight-hour workday drawing particular attention.
- Saran’s first Drishyam 2 reading was scheduled around her daughter’s sleep time.
- The unit routinely sent her home early, sometimes before Devgn.
- The production treated the adjustment as natural support rather than a special concession.
For Saran, the experience showed how relatively modest scheduling changes can keep an experienced performer in a franchise rather than forcing a choice between career and care. That practical detail is what gives the interview its weight: it moves the discussion from debate about ideal working hours to a concrete example of a set functioning differently.
Her account does not propose a policy; it offers a working example. Some of the flexibility actors are asking for can be delivered through scheduling choices rather than a full production overhaul.
Motherhood now informs the work
Saran said becoming a mother has changed the way she evaluates scripts. She wants to spend more time with her daughter and to choose films her child can eventually be proud of. “I want her to get up and say, ‘You know, Mama, that was a great film. And I’m glad that you did this film,’” she said.
Her daughter has already begun responding to her work, telling Saran that she loves seeing her in certain songs — a reaction the actor describes as “the best award as a mother.” The 44-year-old currently stars alongside Devgn in Drishyam 3: The Conclusion, which released on October 2 and has collected over ₹303 crore worldwide in four days, according to the India Today report.
The figure matters less as a record than as a counterpoint: the commercial stakes were high, and the production still chose to make room for Saran’s responsibilities. As the franchise enters its final chapter, keeping familiar faces and the continuity they carry may matter as much as the plot turns the series is known for.
Source: India Today
Comments