Apart from the fee hike and work hours, sources claim the constant delay in the Kalki 2 shoot and eventual clash with the dates for King added to the falling-out between Deepika Padukone and the makers
Deepika Padukone
Days after the makers of Kalki 2898 AD (2024) announced that Deepika Padukone would not be a part of the sequel as they could not find a “partnership”, the actor seemingly hit back with an Instagram post. Over the weekend, she shared a picture from the set of Shah Rukh Khan’s King and noted that “the experience of making a movie, and the people you make it with, matter far more than its success.” This has reignited the chatter around what led to the falling-out between Padukone and Vyjayanthi Movies, which is backing Kalki 2. While the actor’s fee hike and stipulated working hours were said to be part of the reason (All the dope behind dropping DP, September 20), one now hears that Kalki 2’s delays and eventual scheduling conflicts with King also led to them parting ways.
Shah Rukh Khan
It turns out the sequel to Nag Ashwin’s sci-fi action film was earlier supposed to go on floors in May 2025. A source breaks it down, “Kalki 2 did not roll in May, as initially planned, since Prabhas was shooting for Fauji. The constant delays required Deepika to reshuffle her projects. Finally, when the latest set of dates was asked for Kalki 2, it was clashing with King. Deepika has done five films with Shah Rukh and shares a deep friendship with the superstar. There was no way she would not feature in his film.” An insider points to the tone of the makers’ statement, saying, “It just shows their attempt to deride her when they know that they couldn’t adhere to the discussed timeline.”
(From left) Nag Ashwin; A still from ‘Kalki 2898 AD’
But every story has two sides. The buzz is that the talks around Kalki 2 had started spiralling downwards in the past three months after the shoot didn’t kick off in the summer. Another source says, “Each star’s fee for the sequel was agreed right when the first film was signed. The producers felt that Deepika’s new ask for a fee hike was unjustified. She wanted a 30 per cent hike plus back-end profits, five hours of shoot per day, conveyance and luxury hotel accommodation for her 26-person entourage. Why didn’t she make her conditions clear when she signed the first part? Also, the turning point came with the way her management handled the negotiations. Recently, Nag Ashwin apparently told the producers that Deepika wasn’t taking part in any discussion about the film. The producers felt they could save about Rs 40 crore if they dropped her. So, they made the announcement. As for her dates, they were supposed to be a mutual arrangement. So, the narrative of a scheduling clash has no grounds to it.”
mid-day reached out to Padukone’s team and Vyjayanthi Movies. Both declined to comment.
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