Sandeep Reddy Vanga hits back at Deepika Padukone after her exit from Spirit: ‘Agli baar poori kahani bolna’ 

In the wake of Padukone’s exit, actress Triptii Dimri has officially been announced as the new female lead of Spirit. On Saturday, Dimri confirmed the news through a social media post

Sandeep Reddy Vanga calls out Deepika Padukone (Image source: Instagram)

Days after Deepika Padukone was dropped from the upcoming film Spirit, filmmaker Sandeep Reddy Vanga has shared a post on X, calling out the actress over her “dirty PR games”, thus starting a wave of speculation and controversy. The remarks come in the wake of her departure from Vanga’s upcoming film Spirit, which stars Prabhas in the lead role.

On Monday evening, Vanga took to his official X account to express his displeasure in a cryptic message. While he refrained from naming anyone directly, his post strongly suggested discontent with an actor he recently collaborated with, widely presumed to be Padukone.

“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,” Vanga wrote in his post.

He followed this statement with a pointed Hindi remark, where he said, “Aisa karo…. Agli baar poori kahani bolna… kyunki mujhe jarra bhi farak nahi padtha. #dirtyPRgames. I like this kahawath very much. खुंदक में बिल्ली खंबा नोचे!”

Check out the tweet here:

The timing of the filmmaker’s comments coincides with the reports that Padukone has been dropped from Spirit. Industry sources suggest the decision stemmed from creative and contractual differences. Padukone, who recently became a mother, is said to be aiming for a more balanced work schedule.

On May 22, a source close to the development of Spirit told Bollywood Hungama, “Sandeep Reddy Vanga got the shock of his life when Deepika Padukone refused to shoot for more than 6 hours a day for Spirit. That’s not all, the actress, via her agency, also started to demand an amendment to the contract. Their point of contention was simple – if the shoot extends beyond 100 days, Deepika will have to be paid extra for every single day of shoot beyond the commitment on paper.”

Had Deepika done the film, Spirit would have marked her second on-screen collaboration with Prabhas, following the much-anticipated Kalki 2898 AD.

In the wake of Padukone’s exit, actress Triptii Dimri has officially been announced as the new female lead of Spirit. On Saturday, Dimri confirmed the news through a social media post, sharing an image of the film’s title card featuring her name in multiple Indian and international languages.

“Still sinking in… So grateful to be trusted with this journey. Thank you @sandeepreddy.vanga… Honoured to be a part of your vision,” she wrote, expressing both her excitement and appreciation for the opportunity.