Amidst all the noise, clutter, and chaos swirling around her ouster from the sequel of Kalki 2898 AD comes a development that, for her, is like a silver lining. Deepika Padukone has officially confirmed that she is reuniting with Shah Rukh Khan for Sidharth Anand's King. The film marks her sixth collaboration with SRK since Om Shanti Om.
Taking to social media, Deepika wrote, "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?"
The note was accompanied by a heartwarming picture of her hand holding SRK's.
While Deepika hasn't yet responded to the Kalki 2898 AD twist, the above note seems to hint that she found the demands of the producers disagreeable, and that she sees no point in working with people who cannot understand the concerns of a woman who recently became a mother.
When Deepika was signed as the lead actress for Sandeep Reddy Vanga's Prabhas-starrer Spirit, the hype levels had shot through the roof. There were reports in the Bollywood media about how Deepika's character in the film would be a robust one, something that impressed her a lot on hearing the script. However, a few months later, it was reported that she left the project after disagreements with Vanga.
As she was new to motherhood, her demands were for an eight-hour work shift and, allegedly, that these were turned down. The other angle to this is that Vanga wanted her to speak her dialogues in Telugu but Deepika objected it and also asked for a bigger paycheck as well as profit share. All this triggered Vanga who then opted for Tripti Dimrii for the role.
And then came the news of Deepika getting axed from another Telugu project, coincidentally another Prabhas-starrer, the sequel to Kalki 2898 AD. The development was announced by the producers Vyjayanthi Films who released an official statement on the same. While more details are not known yet, the statement clearly hinted at lower commitment levels from Deepika who has also been accused of having demands similar to the Spirit episode. There should be a statement from her side soon, like there was after she was dropped from Spirit.
If the Spirit debacle created a stir, the latest development is a bigger shock, given that Deepika plays one of the pivotal characters in the Kalki 2898 AD universe.
The common factor to the two films that she has been axed from, is Prabhas and the fact that both films are big-budget flicks that are amongst the most hyped films in the industry. There were polarised opinions when the Spirit news came out, with a larget set of people taking Deepika's stance while another section felt that Vanga was on the right side. The trends at the moment, though, seem to be overwhelmingly against Deepika because an artist being dropped from two films in the same year for similar reasons doesn't paint the person in good light.
However, Deepika has always been controversy's child, or rather friend. And there's no denying that she is arguably one of the finest actresses of this generation. Aside from King, she has another biggie to look forward to — the upcoming Allu Arjun-Atlee project that's being mounted on a giant canvas. So what if she didn't get the Kalki 2989 AD sequel? She is in an enviable position regardless.