Mumbai: Famed filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma (RGV), celebrated for works like Satya and Rangeela, has weighed in on the ongoing controversy surrounding Deepika Padukone’s reported exit from Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s upcoming film Spirit.
Speaking to one of the leading newspaper, he described the issue as “very exaggerated” and chided media coverage for overstating the matter. Varma emphasised that fixed working hours for actors should be a matter of mutual agreement: “I can say I want to work for 23 hours, and the actor can say they want only one hour—it’s their call,” adding that “how can one human being force another?” .
He further argued that such agreements are impractical within the unpredictable nature of filmmaking—where factors like lighting, co-stars and location availability often shift unexpectedly—and blamed the media for “blowing it up” . Varma’s candid remarks introduce a more measured perspective into the debate, countering the dominant narrative and urging rationality over sensationalism.
