‘Don’t sleep’: Not 90-hour workweek, check Shah Rukh Khan’s advice on success

As the nation debated the 90-hour workweek, Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan’s “don’t sleep, don’t eat” advice resurfaced on social media. In a 2022 interview, King Khan said that to be successful, a person has to be restless; relaxation is only good if a person doesn’t want to be successful.

However, Shah Rukh’s advice may not have exactly meant what Larsen & Toubro (L&T) Chairman SN Subrahmanyan said. It implied that dedication and relentlessness were important for success.

In the video, SRK says, “If you want to be successful, don’t eat, don’t sleep, don’t rest, do not relax!”

The actor said that to be successful, one has to give up healthy and good living and “be tensed, under pressure”.

“You cannot be restful and at peace if you want to be successful,” he reiterated, saying, “Aaram haram hai”.

Shah Rukh also said that if one can’t sacrifice, they won’t be able to become what they want to be.

“I am very lazy; I like playing video games, spending time with my children, reading books…I want to relax. But I sleep for only 4-5 hours and go to work in the morning, exercise to get the 6-pack body,” he said as an example.

“Pain will go, but success will not wait,” he exclaimed.

For those who say, ‘life is beyond work’, Shah Rukh Khan said it is good if you don’t want to be successful.

“Success does not come until you are completely restless,” he added as the show host ended the conversation with APJ Abdul Kalam’s quote: “Dream is not that which you see while sleeping; it is something that does not let you sleep.”

What did SN Subrahmanyan say?

The L&T Chairman advocated for a 90-hour workweek while questioning the need for off days, “What do you do sitting at home? How long can you stare at your wife? How long can wives stare at their husbands? Get to the office and start working.”

He also expressed regret that he couldn’t mandate Sunday work, stating that he would be “happier” if employees worked on weekends as he does.

Infosys co-founder Narayan Murthy initiated the debate on work-life balance and long working hours recently, advocating a 70-hour work week.

India Inc leaders say ‘quality over quantity’

Several India Inc. leaders have come out against the idea of such long hours.

Rajiv Bajaj, Managing Director of Bajaj Auto said, “Number of hours of work doesn’t matter, quality of work does. We need a kinder, gentler world more than ever before.”

Radhika Gupta, CEO of Edelweiss Mutual Fund, said, “Hard work is a choice. Ambition is a choice. And choices have consequences. Not everybody has to aspire to be a CEO or founder with a mega exit. I know many people who have chosen the path of a less demanding career within their field because time off from work matters to them. No judgments.”

Anand Mahindra, Chairman of Mahindra Group, added, “It’s not about 48, 40 hours, it’s not about 70 hours, it’s not about 90 hours. What output are you doing even if it’s 10 hours? You can change the world in 10 hours.”