- Deepika Padukone exited Sandeep Reddy Vangas Spirit over remuneration and timing issues
- Pranay Reddy Vanga claimed Deepika demanded 10% profit share of the film
- Journalist Janvi Manchanda highlighted male actors often ask for profit shares too
It has been over a year since Deepika Padukone walked out of Sandeep Reddy Vanga's Spirit. The controversy surrounding Deepika's exit resurfaced, though, after Sandeep Reddy Vanga's brother claimed the actress demanded a 10 per cent profit share of the film.
Following the claims, on Friday, journalist Janvi Manchanda shared a long note on Instagram. The post captioned, “Sandeep Reddy Vanga's brother Pranay claims Deepika Padukone asked for a 10% profit share of Spirit, and I'm just wondering, did we forget male actors have been doing this for years?" Why is a woman doing the same NEWS?”
The post also called out the double standard of admonishing a woman for asking for what has become the norm for men in the industry. “Breaking: Deepika Padukone Allegedly Wanted 10% Of Spirit's Profits. Judging by the meltdown, you'd think she asked for the entire film and Vanga estate. Sounds like we have a full-blown male-ego crisis on our hands. A woman rejected a deal, and misogyny couldn't handle a woman's "no,"” the first slide of the post read.
Deepika Padukone seemingly agreed with the post and showed her support by liking it. Till now, the post has received 10,900 likes along with nearly 2,000 reposts and more than 500 comments showing support to Deepika.
When Deepika left Spirit last year, reports claimed that she could not come to terms with the production's demands and had insisted on an 8-hour workday for herself as a new mother. However, the controversy took a new turn when during an interview with NTV Telugu, Pranay Reddy Vanga stated the reason for Deepika's exit from the film.
“The reason is the same as what was already mentioned. One was remuneration; the second was timing. Apart from that, there are some other reasons too,” Pranay said, adding, “She demanded 10 per cent of the film's profit. Soon after, everything went overboard. See, she can ask for anything. If we are willing to give, we can give. But the economics (budget) should also work out for us. We thought that it was not working. This is why we thought of other options. Once we started looking for other options, they started leaking everything."
Pranay revealed that they discussed the story and character with Deepika and then alleged that she leaked all the details. Directed by Sandeep Reddy Vanga, Spirit stars Prabhas and Triptii Dimri in lead roles and is scheduled to release in March 2027.