Mani Ratnam backs Deepika Padukone amid controversy over exit from Sandeep Reddy Vanga and Prabhas’ Spirit: ‘Glad she asked for it’

The backlash Bollywood actor Deepika Padukone faced online following her recent exit from Sandeep Reddy Vanga and Prabhas’ Spirit has once again spotlighted the inherent misogyny in society, with a section of social media erupting the moment they saw a woman demanding reasonable working hours and fair remuneration. It wasn’t just netizens and faceless trolls; even Vanga himself appeared to take a veiled jab, seemingly at Deepika, by questioning her “professionalism” and accusing her of playing “dirty PR games”. Although the controversial director did not explicitly name anyone, many were quick to conclude he was referring to the Jawan actor.

Now, following the support from Ajay Devgn and Saif Ali Khan, legendary filmmaker Mani Ratnam has also come forward in defence of Deepika, calling her reported request for an eight-hour workday a “rightful demand”. “I think it is a rightful demand. I’m glad she’s in a position to ask for it. I think as a filmmaker, you will take that into consideration when you cast. It is not an unreasonable thing to ask, but an absolute necessity. I think that should be the priority. You have to acknowledge that, understand it and work around it,” Mani said during a chat with News18.

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Deepika’s “demands” included eight-hour shifts, huge pay, and a share in profits, along with the refusal to speak the Telugu lines and wanting them to be dubbed. Actor Triptii Dimri, who played a key role in Vanga’s controversial Ranbir Kapoor-starrer Animal (2023), later replaced Deepika. Meanwhile, the filmmaker also took potshots at an unnamed actor for allegedly leaking Spirit’s story to the media.

After a report emerged that the cop drama will have an “A-rated action twist”, Vanga took to X (formerly Twitter), claiming that this has only “disclosed the person that you are.” He added, “Putting down a younger actor and ousting my story? Is this what your feminism stands for? As a filmmaker, I put years of hard work behind my craft, & for me, filmmaking is everything. You didn’t get it. You won’t get it. You will never get it.”