Deepika Padukone is not associated with ‘Brahmastra 2’, despite recent reports suggesting that the actor could be part of the highly anticipated sequel. Her official spokesperson has now dismissed the rumours surrounding her alleged casting.Addressing the speculation, Deepika’s spokesperson said: “All recent reports of Deepika Padukone being a part of Brahmastra 2 or associated with the project in any capacity are untrue.”The clarification comes as work continues on the second instalment of Ayan Mukerji’s fantasy adventure franchise. ‘Brahmastra: Part One – Shiva’ featured Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt in the lead roles, with the story following Shiva, a young man who discovers his extraordinary powers and sets out to uncover their origins alongside Isha, whom he falls in love with.Released in theatres on September 9, 2022, the film became a major commercial success, collecting more than Rs. 400 crore worldwide. It also featured Amitabh Bachchan, Nagarjuna, Mouni Roy and Shah Rukh Khan in important roles.Ayan had announced in April 2023 that the upcoming sequels would be “bigger and more ambitious than Part One”. Ranbir later confirmed that ‘Brahmastra 2’ was already deep into the writing stage.Speaking to fans in 2023, Ranbir said, “So Brahmastra 2 is heavy into writing. We are working on it all the time, it was just last week that Ayan narrated the film to me. Ayan has gone ten times bigger than part 1, his idea, his thought, the characters. He is working on War 2 right now, so the plan is to finish War 2 by mid next year and we start shooting hopefully by end of next year, or beginning of next to next year. But definitely there’s a lot of work which is already happening on the film in the writing process. ”The actor also acknowledged the criticism that followed the first film and explained that the team was taking the feedback seriously while developing the sequel. Ranbir said, “We have really understood the kind of criticism we got for the film. What worked for it and what didn’t work for it. So we want to put everything into consideration. From the dialogues or people saying that Shiva and Isha’s chemistry was somewhere missing... There was a lot of criticism that was constructive so we are taking that into our stride, and trying to understand that and kind of go beyond that.”For now, Deepika has several projects lined up. She will next be seen in ‘King’ alongside Shah Rukh Khan and is also part of Allu Arjun’s upcoming film ‘Raaka’.
