Nearly a year after the controversy over Deepika Padukone’s reported exit from Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s Spirit, the issue has resurfaced in the Bollywood media.
This time, the discussion has moved beyond remuneration and working hours to allegations about professionalism and the terms Deepika reportedly sought for the film.
The controversy began when Deepika was said to be in consideration for the female lead opposite Prabhas in Spirit. However, differences reportedly emerged between her and Vanga over remuneration and working hours. Later, Triptii Dimri, who had worked with Vanga in Animal, joined the project.
At the time, Vanga accused Deepika of leaking details about the film and claimed that certain aspects of the script had reached the media after their differences.
The issue remained relatively quiet for months. But with around 40 per cent of Spirit reportedly completed, it has now returned to the spotlight following comments made by Vanga’s brother and co-producer Pranay Reddy Vanga during the promotions of Romanchakam.
Pranay reportedly said the disagreement with Deepika was not only about remuneration. He claimed that she had also sought a 10 per cent share in the film’s profits and questioned her professionalism.
Following these comments, several reports in the Bollywood media have started presenting the issue from Deepika’s side.
Some reports suggest that even if the financial terms had been accepted, Deepika may still not have worked with Vanga because of differences over his working style and her reported discomfort with it.
The controversy has also once again brought Vanga’s public image into discussion. Some sections of the media have revived criticism of his views on relationships and women, describing him as misogynistic or regressive.
There are also claims on social media that Deepika’s PR team is trying to create a negative narrative against Vanga.
However, there is no public evidence to confirm that Deepika herself has briefed the media or that these reports are being directly driven by her PR team.
For now, the fresh media coverage appears to have gained momentum mainly after Pranay Reddy Vanga’s latest comments.
The Deepika-Vanga fallout, therefore, seems far from over.
