It looks like Telugu directors are unwilling to cast Bollywood diva Deepika Padukone due to her strict conditions regarding her working hours and other stipulations while signing the contracts. She already took an unceremonious exit from Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s next film with Prabhas due to the same reason. Now, the Kalki actress has been left out of another pan-India project.

As per an official announcement by Vyjayanthi Movies, the production house behind Kalki 2898AD, Deepika Padukone will no longer be a part of the sequel. This development comes after speculations on whether she will agree to work in the sequel after her professional fallout with Sandeep Reddy Vanga which became a topic of discussion all over the media.

The production house took to X and stated ” 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 works”.

It is surprising that the makers revealed this development so early even before any clarification on when the regular shooting of this sequel will commence. Neither did they reveal the exact reason for parting ways with her. In the first part, she appeared as Sumathi, a pregnant lab subject of Project K and the prophesied mother of Kalki.

It would be interesting to see who will replace Deepika Padukone in the next part. Director Nag Ashwin is currently busy working on a small project as Prabhas is occupied with multiple films.