Lights, Camera, Scoop: Inside Deepika Padukone's Exit From 'Kalki 2898 AD,' Her SRK Post, & Aneet Padda Eyes Horror Film
The Hollywood Reporter India's weekly column 'Lights, Camera, Scoop' unravels the behind-the-scenes madness of the big Bollywood machinery.
Entry and Exit
A version of The Ba***ds of Bollywood was playing out in reality this week when news broke about actor Deepika Padukone's being dropped from the sequel of Kalki 2898 AD.
Telugu production giant Vyjayanthi Movies issued a statement—with an undeniably stern, passive-aggressive tone—to announce parting ways with Padukone, with whom they were "unable to find a partnership." But what got everyone speculating about underlying tensions was the line that followed: "A film like @Kalki2898AD deserves that commitment and much more."
This was the second such development for Padukone after a reported fallout with the makers of Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s Spirit. But what went wrong between her and the Kalki 2898 AD team, which, till last year, was singing tunes of praise? The answer depends on who one talks to.
The "issues" that led to Padukone being dropped range from reportedly asking for a higher fee, uncontrollable entourage costs, and a demand for an eight-hour workday on one end, to date clashes and her role not being as fleshed out as the first one.
Padukone's insistence on a healthy work-life balance, which emerged as the talking point after the Spirit fallout, is well-acknowledged in the industry, especially when you know bizarre demands of male stars are met swiftly and without any fuss.
But industry insiders say an eight-hour workday ask is tricky in practice, as one has to take into account that at least two hours go into hair and makeup for a spectacle like Kalki 2898 AD, and there will be at least an hour-long lunch break, which would leave the crew with only five hours a day to shoot a film.
Production sources across the board say that if limited working hours were one of the biggest reasons to pull the plug, it is understandable, as a VFX-heavy spectacle with a huge cast and crew is difficult to film within five hours without the budget shooting up.
The other roadblocks are reportedly regarding the fee, as Padukone apparently asked for a bigger paycheck for the sequel, which insiders say is a fair ask even if other members of the cast have come on board at the same fee. Even though details of her entourage's costs are everywhere, industry sources also insist that actors are never dropped only because of this.
"In all likelihood, this could be a culmination of a lot of things not aligning, rather than one specific pain point. If the dates were a problem because a bulk was reserved for the Atlee film, it could have been sorted by talking to the producers. Even the so-called 'demand' for the entourage cost is always manageable and is never a breaking point. The makers wouldn't want to be in an uncertain position, and hence called this off and Deepika wouldn't want to back down from her stance either," a source shares.
Which is why on late Friday evening, Padukone dropped a post on Instagram, announcing the filming of King with Shah Rukh Khan and the caption hinted at all the talking points, from finding healthy collaborators to having successful, longstanding collaborations.
Posting a picture of holding hands with Khan, Padukone 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?"
Horror Swap
Aneet Padda is going from a sweeping romance to a scary horror comedy. The Saiyaara star is set to headline Dinesh Vijan's production Shakti Shalini, part of Maddock's horror-comedy universe.
Pinkvilla reported that Padda has already done her look test and will begin the film by the end of the year. The actor, who is also reportedly in talks to headline Maneesh Sharma's upcoming romantic drama for Yash Raj Films, was in discussion with Vijan for over two months.
The makers were earlier planning to mount Shakti Shalini with Kiara Advani, who was almost on board to lead the film. The project, however, was put on hold when the actor announced her pregnancy. Multiple industry insiders have confirmed that Padda will now lead the project, even as Maddock has officially called the reports "speculative".
"While we truly value the excitement around our horror-comedy universe, we want to make it absolutely clear that any reports regarding the casting of the upcoming chapters, including Shakti Shalini and Maha Munjya, are purely speculative. We urge the media to avoid misinformation and to wait for official announcements from us," the production house said in a statement.