Deepika Padukone’s Spirit exit: Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s brother alleges actress wanted profit share and ‘leaked’ story
Pranay Vanga alleges budget, profit row behind Deepika quitting Spirit, Kalki sequel
The fallout between Deepika Padukone and director Sandeep Reddy Vanga over Spirit has been one of Bollywood's most talked-about exits, and it's back in the news with a fresh claim from an unexpected source.
For months, it was maintained that she stepped away from the Prabhas-starrer because the production refused to commit to reasonable, fixed working hours, a boundary many saw as entirely reasonable, especially given ongoing industry conversations about actor wellbeing and work-life balance. The actor's stance found public support, including reports of her engaging with posts online that defended her position on the eight-hour workday demand.
Now, Pranay Reddy Vanga, the director's brother, has offered a different angle in comments to NTV Telugu, alleging that a profit-sharing demand, reportedly around 10 percent, also factored into the split. He suggested remuneration and scheduling were the central issues, with additional undisclosed factors also at play. He further claimed that budget constraints made it difficult for the production to meet the actor's asks, and that once alternatives were explored, details of the negotiation became public.
"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."
He added, "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."
A second setback: The Kalki 2898 AD sequel
Spirit wasn't an isolated case. Deepika also parted ways with the sequel to Kalki 2898 AD. Vyjayanthi Movies confirmed her exit in a statement on X, noting that despite a long collaborative journey on the first film, the two sides could not reach an agreement for the sequel, and wished her well for future projects.
