'She's brilliant': Shoojit Sircar on Deepika Padukone's 'professionalism' amid her controversial Spirit and Kalki exits

Deepika made the headlines first when she made an exit from Sandeep Reddy Vanga's Spirit after her 'eight-hour schedule' demand was reportedly not accepted.

Vanga not only replaced the 39-year-old actress with new Bollywood heartthrob Triptii Dimri at a cheaper remuneration but also shared a cryptic post on social media.

In the most recent incident, Deepika, who has remained in the eye of the storm many times in her career, quit the sequel of Kalki 2898 AD but with a row.

The production house Vyjayanthi Movies on Thursday dropped a cryptic remark on "commitment" while announcing Deepika's exit from the film.

Filmmaker Shoojit Sircar, who directed Deepika in Piku, has recently opened up on the actress' exit from the two projects.

When he was asked by DNA to comment on Deepika's recent exits, Shoojit said at FICCI Frames 2025, "I respect every individual's subjective decisions for what they do. I respect what...I don't know what the whole story is all about."

When he was pressed further on Deepika's "eight-hour schedule" demand, the 'Sardar Udham' director said, "That's fine, we should be respecting an individual's boundaries. So, uski poori respect karni chaiye. Main karta hoon."

When asked about her professionalism, Shoojit said, "Brilliant, she's just brilliant as a professional actor. She's brilliant."

Shoojit directed Deepika and acting legend Amitabh Bachchan in Piku, which was released in 2015.

Meanwhile, Deepika has started shooting for King, which is her sixth collaboration with superstar Shah Rukh Khan.

Apart from King, Deepika will team-up with Allu Arjun for Atlee's AA22xA6.