The fallout around Spirit has refused to fade, and the latest version of Deepika Padukone’s side adds a sharp new layer to the story. More than a year after her exit from Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s film triggered industry-wide debate over pay, work hours, and professionalism, fresh details have now surfaced about what really happened before she walked away.
According to a source close to the developments, Deepika’s association with Spirit never progressed as far as many believed. The source said, “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 film was shared. She didn’t receive a full narration of the film. 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.”
Inside The Meeting That Changed The Spirit Narrative
That account sharply reframes the controversy that followed Deepika’s exit in April 2025. If the source’s version is taken at face value, the actor was never fully inside the film’s process to begin with, making the later storm around negotiations and expectations even more loaded.
The source also made Deepika’s position on collaborating with the filmmaker even clearer, saying, “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.”
Once Triptii Dimri emerged as the new female lead, the fallout moved into full public view. In May 2025, Sandeep shared a strongly worded post on social media that read, “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?” This past week, 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.”
Deepika Padukone’s Recent And Upcoming Work
If Spirit has continued to generate headlines, Deepika’s larger career arc tells its own story. The actor has spent the past few years firmly positioned at the centre of event cinema, moving between action spectacles and marquee star vehicles that have kept her among Hindi cinema’s most visible names.
In 2024, she appeared in Fighter, Kalki 2898 AD, and Singham Again, a run that underscored both her commercial pull and her place in large-scale franchise storytelling. Her next confirmed theatrical release is King, which will reunite her with Shah Rukh Khan. She is also attached to Atlee’s Raaka opposite Allu Arjun. Meanwhile, Spirit has moved ahead with Triptii Dimri opposite Prabhas and is slated for release on March 5, 2027. Against that backdrop, the Spirit episode now feels less like a detour and more like one chapter in a career that continues to move on its own terms.
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