After Deepika Padukone, Alia Bhatt NO longer a part of Nag Ashwin’s next? Deets inside

Last year, Deepika Padukone appeared in Nag Ashwin’s mythological fantasy drama ‘Kalki 2898 AD’. Last month, the movie’s team revealed that the actress is no longer a part of the franchise. The news shocked everyone, and many wondered what went wrong. Now, there’s another big update. As per the reports, even Alia Bhatt won’t be a part of Ashwin’s other action drama.

In November 2024, there were reports of Alia Bhatt reportedly leading Nag Ashwin’s woman-centric action drama. While there was no official announcement, however, it looks like Bhatt is no longer headlining the project. Ashwin’s movie’s dates are clashing with Alia’s next, Maddock Film’s Chamunda (March 2026).

Now that Alia is not a part of the film, the Kalki 2898 AD director has reportedly decided to rope in Sai Pallavi for the film. Sai was always the first choice for the film. A source told Mid Day that the director didn’t let go of the idea of making the woman-led film, and he had kept it on the back burner all this while. Now that developments for Kalki 2 have started, Nag has the time to focus on the other project.

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Coming to Sai Pallavi, the actress is currently busy with Nitesh Tiwari’s Ramayana, which is a two-part film. Once the movie, which also stars Ranbir Kapoor, is complete, she will be able to give the dates after mid-2026 for Nag’s film.