Deepika Padukone may not be a part of Kalki 2898 AD sequel: “The producers may decide…” 2898 : Bollywood News

Director Nag Ashwin is the man of the moment. With Kalki 2898 AD showing no signs of slackening its hold at the box office, Nag, who is married to the producer C Aswani Dutt’s daughter Priyanka (Nag earlier directed the Savitri bio-pic Mahaniti for his in-laws) is all set direct the sequel to Mahaniti.

Deepika Padukone may not be a part of Kalki 2898 AD sequel: “The producers may decide…”

A source in the know informed, “The sequel was planned anyhow, no matter what the fate of Kalki. Now that it has proven to be a money spinner beyond anything, the producers expected, the sequel is being expedited.”

It is reliably learnt that the Kalki 2898 AD sequel will star Amitabh Bachchan, Prabhas and Kamal Haasan again. Kamal Haasan, who had only a cameo appearance in the first part, will be one of the pivotal characters in the sequel.

It is not very clear at the moment whether Deepika Padukone would be a part of the Kalki 2898 AD sequel. Multiple sources inform me that the producers are willing to wait for Deepika to complete her maternity leave.

“But now with the clamour for the sequel growing with the mounting success of the first film, the producers may decide to replace Deepika in the sequel,” a source revealed.

In a recent interview with Zoom, director Nag Ashwin spoke about the importance of Deepika's character to the entire plot of the film and its sequel. He said that just like his previous film Mahanati (2018), Kalki 2898 AD also revolves around a woman, although he doesn't consciously plan it that way. "I don’t know if it’s very conscious but I feel definitely some of the most powerful ideas or the most powerful anchors of stories probably are women. Maybe it comes organically; I don’t do that consciously. And the story is all about that (Deepika’s character)," he said.

Significantly Kalki 2898 AD has not performed as well in its original Telugu language as was expected. But it has swept the box office.

With this film, Nag Ashwin has joined the ranks of the biggest Indian film directors alongside SS Rajamouli, Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Karan Johar.

Also Read: Ranveer Singh calls watching Deepika Padukone in Kalki 2898 AD “trippy” experience; latter says, “Real review will come now when we go home”