Deepika Padukone and Prabhas impressed their fans with their performances in Kalki 2898 AD and the audience were eager to see them together again. It was reported that Deepika will star in Prabhas-led ‘Spirit’, directed by Sandeep Reddy Vanga. However, recent rumours hinted that Deepika was removed due to alleged “unprofessional demands.”

Now, the filmmakers have officially announced that Triptii Dimri will be stepping into the lead female role. Sandeep Reddy Vanga took to X (formerly Twitter) to reveal the replacement: “The female lead for my film is now official :-)”. Triptii Dimri shared her excitement on Instagram, writing, “Still sinking in…. So grateful to be trusted with this journey. Thank you @sandeepreddy.vanga ..honoured to be a part of your vision.”

Fans flooded social media with comments, one user said, “Welcome to RebelWood”, another expressed excitement, “I’m screaming”, other user penned “Unexpected but Perfect”.

Earlier, Deepika was locked as the female lead but as per reports by several Telugu media outlets, the Kalki actress allegedly requested for eight-hour workday and demanded a hefty fees along with a percentage of the film’s profits. It was also reported that she refused to do her dialogues in Telugu. Her alleged demandes made the filmmaker frustrated and he has decided not to work with the actress.

Spirit is expected to go on floors by September/October 2025. A source told Pinkvilla, “With Vanga, you can expect a genre-breaking film and he spent over 6 months to develop the story into a screenplay. The casting has been going on in tandem, and with most of the things now falling in place, Sandeep Reddy Vanga is all set to take Spirit with Prabhas on floors from September/October 2025.”