L A Adithya
Bollywood star Deepika Padukone seems to bid farewell to starring in a role in yet another film in the works, Kalki 2898AD. She will not be co-starring in the sequel with Prabhas after having acted in the first part of the, as-yet duology amidst alleged disagreements and failure to strike a compatible deal between her and the production house, Vyjayanthi Movies.
The official statement read that the two parties had parted ways, implying the actress’ unwillingness to fully commit herself to the project. This comes after she was dropped from Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s upcoming film, Spirit, with co-star Prabhas only a few months prior. The Bollywood icon has been struggling to land big roles in recent months, owing to her motherly commitments, as some argue, in Spirit and other undisclosed reasons in the recent movie in the making.
It is also speculated that Deepika and Sandeep had a falling out and that her demands of 8-hour work shifts couldn’t be met. Vyjayanthi Movies, in their post on X, stated that they intend to work with someone who is in it with total commitment, raising questions as to the actress’ recent fallouts and reprising of roles in movies.
Director Nag Ashwin seemed to be upset over the handling of the deal and negotiations, some reports suggest.
Although she has struggled for solo hits, she has been part of several blockbuster films, like Jawan and Pathan most prominently, alongside Bollywood legend Shah Rukh Khan. She will be joining hands with him again in their next film, King, by Siddharth Anand.
Deepika is now in the works with Atlee for AA22xA6 in collaboration with Allu Arjun as her co-star. This is set to be her return to working with the Kollywood director after having acted in the blockbuster hit Jawan.