Deepika Padukone’s exit from Prabhas’ Spirit had created a big discussion at the time. Most people believed that the issue was mainly about working hours. The debate even became a national talking point.
But now, another reason has come out.
According to Spirit producer Pranay Reddy Vanga, brother of director Sandeep Reddy Vanga, the issue was not only about working hours. He said Deepika had also asked for a share in the film’s profits.
Pranay said Deepika had delivered a couple of hits and was in a strong position to make demands. According to him, she reportedly asked for 10 per cent of the net income from the film.
He said the team felt that this condition would not work for their budget and decided to look at another option.
Pranay further claimed that the bigger issue came later, when details about the story and Deepika’s character allegedly started appearing in the media.
He said the team had been discussing the project with her for almost a year, so naturally she knew several details about the story and her role.
According to Pranay, Sandeep became upset after those details allegedly came out through her PR team.
He said paying an extra Rs 5-6 crore was not the main problem. What reportedly angered Sandeep was the way confidential details about the film came out.
Pranay said Sandeep then took a quick decision to replace Deepika.
He also indicated that many of the reports published by Bollywood websites at that time about the story and characters of Spirit were true.
Meanwhile, Pranay also clarified another major rumour surrounding the film.
South Korean star Don Lee is not part of Spirit.
According to Pranay, Sandeep did consider the idea after seeing the huge excitement among fans. However, since the story is set in Hyderabad, the team could not find a proper place for a South Korean character in the narrative.
As a result, the idea was dropped.
Pranay also confirmed that Chiranjeevi is not part of Spirit. He said the team had never seriously considered casting Chiranjeevi and described those reports as mere rumours.
Another confirmed change is Prakash Raj.
Although his voice was heard in the voice teaser, Pranay said Prakash Raj has officially exited the film and will not appear in the final version.
With these clarifications, several long-running rumours around Spirit have finally been addressed.