Deepika Padukone Shot For 20 Days Before Being Dropped From 'Kalki 2': Report

Hyderabad: Deepika Padukone’s exit announcement from ‘Kalki 2’ apparently over commitment issues left fans disappointed with the makers of the film.

However, an insider disclosed to CNN-News18 Showsha that the actress shot for 20 days for the sequel before being dropped.

As per the source, Deepika was confident after shooting for 20 days she won’t be replaced from the project, and demanded a 25 per cent fee hike.

The demand didn’t go down well with the makers, took her off the film.

“Deepika Padukone’s demand for a pay hike — significantly higher than 25% — stemmed from her conviction that she is irreplaceable. The real turning point lay in how her management approached the negotiations. Deepika was fully aware of the sequel and the strong, performance-driven role created for her. In fact, she had already filmed nearly 20 days of Part 2 while shooting Part 1 — something director Nag Ashwin himself confirmed in several media interactions. Her schedule for the next phase was always meant to be decided mutually, so the claim of a date clash holds no merit,” the insider was quoted as saying.

On September 18, Vyjayanthi Movies, the makers of ‘Kalki 2’ confirmed Deepika’s exit from the sequel via an official note on X which read as, “This is to officially announce that @deepikapadukone will not be a part of the upcoming sequel of #Kalki2898AD. After careful consideration, we have decided to part ways. Despite the long journey of making the first film, we were unable to find a partnership. And a film like @Kalki2898AD deserves that commitment and much more. We wish her the best with her future projects.”

Later, Deepika took to her Instagram handle and shared that she has begun shooting for SRK’s ‘King’ and fans speculated that the post was an indirect dig at the ‘Kalki 2’ makers.

“The very first lesson he taught me almost 18 years ago while filming Om Shanti Om was that the experience of making a movie, and the people you make it with, matter far more than its success. I couldn’t agree more and have applied that learning to every decision I’ve made since. And that’s probably why we’re back making our 6th movie together?” Deepika wrote.