Kajol On Actors Working Harder Than 9-to-5 Employees: 'You Have To Be There 100 Per Cent'

In Too Much, when Kajol was the only one to agree that actors work harder than nine-to-five employees, the internet had opinions. However, she stands by it, waking up at five in the morning for a seven a.m. flight, followed by photos, interviews, and events, all while looking immaculate. It’s an undeniably brutal schedule, but it’s also a choice — a very glamorous, well-paid one.

“I’ve been up since five, flown to Jaipur, done my glam, my interviews, and now I’m sitting here in front of you,” she says, in an exclusive conversation with The Hollywood Reporter India. “People see the glamour, not the grind.” However, the internet argues that most people’s grind doesn’t come with stylists, assistants, and sponsored hotels.

Kajol’s point isn’t invalid. “It’s a very, very on-the-ball and on-the-job kind of a job,” she says. “If you are there, you have to be there 100 percent.” Talking about The Trial Season 2, she adds, “We shot for about 35 to 40 days almost continuously throughout. You have to fit your workout in, get your food in order — it has to be bang on. You can’t put on even one inch somewhere because your clothes will not fit you anymore. And that’s a huge pressure.”

She compares it to the average desk job, one where people “can take tea breaks and unwind”.  “When you’re doing a nine-to-five and sitting at a desk, you don’t have to be 100 percent present,” she says. “You can take your tea breaks, chill out, walk, talk and do your job. But we can’t. We are scrutinized and looked at — how we cross our legs, how we sit, who’s looking at us, who’s photographing us. It’s a lot of pressure.”

Kajol calls herself a “boiling kitli,” always on edge, always performing. It’s a strangely fitting metaphor, though for many nine-to-fivers, that kettle’s been whistling long before dawn. The only difference is that their exhaustion rarely makes headlines.

However, Kajol’s version of honesty is refreshing in an industry that thrives on gloss. She doesn’t sugarcoat the exhaustion or the scrutiny, and maybe that’s the point. To her, acting isn’t privilege; it’s persistence. But as she talks about twelve-hour shoots and constant vigilance, it’s hard not to wonder if the real challenge is forgetting that most people work just as hard, only without applause or red carpets.