Mumbai: Ever since Deepika Padukone’s exit from the ‘Kalki 2898 AD’ franchise was announced, fans have been eager to know who could join the sequel.
On Tuesday, several fan pages and entertainment handles cited unnamed sources claiming that Alia Bhatt had been cast in the highly-anticipated film sequel and had already shot a few scenes in Hyderabad.
The speculation quickly gained traction on social media, with many wondering whether Alia was being brought in as a replacement for Deepika’s character, Sumathi (SUM-80),
or had been signed on for an entirely new role.
However, the film’s team has dismissed the reports.
“No shooting… There’s no official clarity yet. Someone posted it on social media, and everyone else copied and pasted it as news. There’s definitely no clarity regarding her casting yet,” a spokesperson told Hindustan Times.
In a statement shared in September last year, Vyjayanthi Movies officially announced Deepika’s exit from the franchise writing, “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.”
In February, when reports suggested that Sai Pallavi might be replacing Deepika, a source told HT that nothing had been finalised though the makers are looking at Sai to play SUM-80 after Deepika’s exit.
“All these are just rumours because nothing has been finalised yet. Please wait for official confirmation,” the source added.