This morning, netizens were shocked when the makers of Prabhas and Amitabh Bachchan’s 2024 film Kalki 2898 AD announced that Deepika Padukone, an important character in the first part, is no longer a part of the sequel. A tweet shared by the production house Vyjayanthi Movies read, “This is to officially announce that @deepikapadukone will not be a part of the upcoming sequel of #Kalki2898AD. After careful consideration, We have decided to part ways. Despite the long journey of making the first film, we were unable to find a partnership. And a film like @Kalki2898AD deserves that commitment and much more. We wish her the best with her future works.” This is the second project that Deepika has lost this year, after Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s Spirit, where she was replaced by Triptii Dimri opposite Prabhas. While the reason was not officially revealed behind Deepika’s exit from Kalki 2898 AD sequel, HT City exclusively learnt that the actor’s dates for the film were given to Atlee’s next by her team after monetary negotiations with Kalki’s makers fell through. An old interview of another filmmaker accusing the actor of being ‘unprofessional’ has now resurfaced amid the ongoing controversy.
Back in 2012, Deepika Padukone was in the news after she walked out of Abbas–Mustan’s Race 2, also starring Saif Ali Khan, John Abraham and Jacqueline Fernandez. Producer Ramesh Taurani was furious when the actor’s manager told him about this decision after she shot the film for 6 days. In an interview with TOI, Ramesh had shared, “The saddest part is that Deepika was supposed to meet me on January 27. At the last minute, she texted to say that she would not be coming but her manager would explain her concerns and ‘find a way for us to work together’. Deepika was in Mumbai from January 27 to January 31 but refused to answer my calls, reply to messages or meet me. In my 25 years in this industry, I have never been so disrespected by any actor and we have worked with the biggest and the best.” Before this, the producer had claimed that the team worked out a schedule so Deepika could be a part of Karan Johar’s Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani (2013) opposite Ranbir Kapoor simultaneously.
Deepika’s manager apparently told the filmmaker that she won’t be a part of Race 2 because she was offered a Hollywood project. Soon after, Deepika jetted off to the US. When the actor returned, Ramesh pushed to meet her on the sets of Cocktail (2012), the shooting of which was underway. However, Deepika allegedly said she would meet him 3 days later. Nevertheless, he went to the sets with his directors and tried to reason with her. Ramesh had claimed, “We tried everything to convince her to not do this. I really tried to find a way to work things out with Deepika. Unfortunately, she was not willing to budge and did not even show an ounce of remorse for the massive inconvenience caused to us, our actors and our senior directors. After this, I had no choice but to file a complaint against her in the AMPTPP and CINTAA. I am deeply saddened by this unprofessional behavior.”
The official CINTAA meeting was eventually called off and a few days later Deepika was back on board, but reportedly with conditions. 2013 turned out to be an exciting year for the actor, with Race 2 being an important release.
