Deepika Padukone’s Spirit Exit: What’s Really Behind the Ongoing Controversy

It’s one of the messiest fallouts in recent Bollywood memory, and it’s still generating headlines months later. Deepika Padukone’s exit from Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s Spirit, the Prabhas-led film that eventually cast Triptii Dimri in her place, has resurfaced in the news thanks to fresh comments from the film’s producer. Here’s a clear breakdown of what’s been claimed, by whom, and where things currently stand.

How it started

Sandeep Reddy Vanga, the filmmaker behind Kabir Singh and Animal, had reportedly been in talks with Deepika Padukone for close to a year and a half for the lead role in Spirit, opposite Prabhas. As part of the casting process, Vanga narrated the story and character to her — a standard step in pre-production.

Talks eventually broke down, and Vanga moved forward with Triptii Dimri in the role instead. Soon after her casting was announced, media reports began circulating detailing elements of the film’s story and tone, which Vanga suggested had been leaked.

#DeepikaPadukone asked for unreasonable Remuneration hike, her schedule was unprofessional & unfair to the rest of the team, and she wanted 10% of post release profit from #Spirit – #PranayReddyVanga

This led to Sandeep choosing #TriptiDimri 👀 #Prabhas‌ #SandeepReddyVanga pic.twitter.com/GnafTRUWXv

— The Climax India (@TheClimaxIndia) August 20, 2026

Vanga’s side

Vanga responded publicly with a pointed, though indirect, social media post, writing that when he narrates a story to an actor, there’s an unspoken trust involved — “an unsaid NDA between us” — and accusing whoever was involved of disclosing that trust. He used the hashtag “#dirtyPRgames” in his post, suggesting he believed the situation was being managed through media narratives rather than addressed directly.

The producer’s fresh claims

The story resurfaced this week when producer Pranay Reddy Vanga spoke to NTV Telugu, offering more detail on why the deal collapsed. According to him, the breakdown came down to a combination of factors:

• Remuneration: Padukone reportedly asked for 10% of the film’s profits. Pranay noted that while any actor is entitled to negotiate their fee, the production also had to weigh that request against the film’s overall budget.
• Scheduling: Disagreements also reportedly involved working hours, following earlier reports that Padukone had requested a shorter, eight-hour shooting day.
• A compromise that didn’t land: Pranay claimed the production was even willing to raise her remuneration by roughly ₹5-6 crore, but that the film’s larger budget made the numbers difficult to reconcile.
• The leak allegation: Pranay repeated the claim that details of the story and character, discussed with Padukone in confidence, were leaked once the team began exploring other casting options — something he said disturbed the team.

Padukone’s response

Padukone has spoken publicly about the broader working-hours issue, though not in direct response to every claim made by the Spirit team. She’s pushed back on the idea that requesting a standard workday is unreasonable, pointing out that male actors have worked eight-hour days for years without it being treated as a controversy.

Part of a bigger pattern

The Spirit exit wasn’t an isolated incident. Padukone also stepped away from Kalki 2898 AD’s sequel, a decision that similarly drew public commentary — director Nag Ashwin shared a cryptic social media post around the time of her exit, which many read as a veiled reference to the situation. A number of fans and industry watchers pushed back at the time, noting that Padukone had continued working on the original Kalki film through her pregnancy, which they felt reflected a strong level of commitment rather than the opposite.

Where things stand

As of now, there’s no single agreed-upon account of what happened — Vanga’s team maintains the exit was driven by financial and logistical issues, compounded by an alleged breach of confidentiality, while Padukone and her supporters have framed the broader pattern as being about reasonable working conditions, particularly following her return to work after becoming a mother.

Spirit has since moved forward with Triptii Dimri in the lead role. We’ll continue following the story as more details emerge.

 

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