Deepika Padukone met Sandeep Reddy Vanga 'only once', didn't even get narration: 'Would never work with him' | Exclusive
Here's the latest update from the Bollywood world:
It was in April 2025 that Deepika Padukone decided not to be a part of Sandeep Reddy Vanga ’s Spirit. It is August 2026, and somehow, we are still talking about it. The star’s exit from the pan-India movie caused a huge uproar, with the filmmaker hurling allegations on social media and the industry debating work hours for artistes. The row erupted once again this week when Pranay , the director’s brother, claimed one of the reasons for Deepika’s exit was her demand for a profit share. Now, Hindustan Times has learnt the other version of events for the first time, as a highly-placed source close to the developments has informed us why the star chose not to do the movie.
Adding to this, Deepika Padukone was in talks with Sandeep Reddy Vanga for his movie Spirit last year. ‘Deepika never commits to a movie without full narration’ Hindustan Times reached out to a source close to the developments, who shared, “Deepika Padukone has met Sandeep Reddy Vanga all of once in her life. Not to mention, the filmmaker arrived a whole hour late to the meeting! Deepika took the rest of the meeting professionally. In the meeting, only a one-liner of the movie was shared. She didn’t receive a full narration of the movie. Deepika never commits to a project without receiving a full narration. So, Spirit was never a part of Deepika’s consideration set to begin with.”
Meanwhile, The source added that Deepika has no inclination to work with the filmmaker: “Sandeep Reddy Vanga is the kind of filmmaker Deepika Padukone would never collaborate with, given his misogynist nature: one that is greatly evident not only in his off-screen persona but in his movies too.”
Notably, Deepika Padukone was in talks with Sandeep Reddy Vanga for his Prabhas-starrer Spirit last year. But in April, it emerged that the star had exited the project. The star as per reports asked for a fixed 8-hour workday as a new mother, a demand that was not met by the movie’s production. The makers of Kalki 2898 AD also revealed her exit from the sequel through a post on X, sparking online debate about professionalism, work-hour limits, and remuneration in high-budget projects.
As per the latest buzz, After reports emerged that Triptii Dimri would be replacing Deepika, it was claimed that Deepika left the movie because she was uncomfortable with certain intimate scenes. At this point, director Sandeep Reddy Vanga shared an angry message on Twitter seemingly directed at Deepika. “When I narrate a story to an star, 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 star and ousting my story? Is this what your feminism stands for?” he wrote in May 2025.
In further updates, View this post on Instagram A post shared by Sandeep Reddy Vanga (@sandeepreddy.vanga)
On top of that, The row erupted again this past week after Pranay, Sandeep’s brother, claimed that one of the reasons for Deepika’s exit was her demand for 10% profit share in the movie. Speaking with NTV Telugu, Pranay Reddy Vanga added, “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. Soon after, everything went overboard. See, she can ask for anything. If we are willing to give, we can give. But the economics 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.”
On Friday, Deepika liked a post on Instagram that called out Sandeep and Pranay for their stance, which lauded the star for asking for ‘what men routinely get’ in the industry.
Source: Hindustan Times