Deepika Padukone once again hit the headlines after she was dropped from Nag Ashwin's Kalki 2898 AD sequel. The production house Vyjayanthi Movies shared an X post on September 18, announcing that they were not collaborating with Deepika Padukone for the sequel due to "commitment" issues. Soon after the announcement, NDTV learned that Deepika couldn't come to amicable terms with the producers over issues related to work hours, fee hike, and entourage costs. These were the exact same reasons for which she stepped out of Sandeep Reddy Vanga's Spirit in May.
As the Kalki 2 fiasco unfolded, an old interview of Deepika Padukone (dated May 7) resurfaced, in which she revealed that a director took a jab at her when she said she couldn't meet him because of her newborn. However, Deepika did not name the director.
Speaking to Marie Claire, Deepika said, “He turned around and said, ‘Oh, looks like she's taking motherhood very seriously.'” Confused by his words, Deepika added, “I don't know if that was a compliment or a jab. What does that mean, taking motherhood seriously? Yeah!”
As a new mother in 2024, Deepika Padukone was trying to strike a balance between her personal and professional lives. With many ifs and buts in her mind, Deepika told the publication, “I do have to tell myself that your life doesn't end the minute you have a child, and that you do need to get back to your life, or at least a part of your life before you had a baby... but every moment where I'm not able to be with her, there is guilt.”
On May 26, Sandeep Reddy Vanga shared an X post taking an indirect dig at Deepika Padukone—without naming her— over a disclosure of an ussaid NDA.
Vanga wrote, “When I narrate a story to an actor, I place 100% faith. There is an unsaid NDA (Non Disclosure Agreement) between us. But by doing this, You've ‘DISCLOSED' the person that you are.... Putting down a younger actor and ousting my story? Is this what your feminism stands for? As a filmmaker, I put years of hard work behind my craft & for me, filmmaking is everything. You didn't get it. You won't get it. You will never get it. Aisa karo.... Agli baar poori kahani bolna... kyunki mujhe jarra bhi farak nahi padhta. I like this kahawat very much. #DirtyPRgames.”
When I narrate a story to an actor, I place 100% faith. There is an unsaid NDA(Non Disclosure Agreement) between us. But by doing this, You've 'DISCLOSED' the person that you are....
— Sandeep Reddy Vanga (@imvangasandeep) May 26, 2025
Putting down a Younger actor and ousting my story? Is this what your feminism stands for ? As a…
Deepika and Vanga didn't take each other's names, but the timeline of their words and X posts led the Internet to assume that Deepika was talking about Sandeep Reddy Vanga in her interview. After Deepika walked out of the film, Vanga's Animal actor Triptii Dimri was roped in opposite Prabhas in the film.
