A massive pan-India film with a marketing budget of up to 1000 crores—a prestigious project, to say the least.
Being removed from such a film would be nothing short of an insult, yet that's what happened to music director Devi Sri Prasad. This was completely unexpected.
The relationship between Sukumar and Devi is long-standing; every Sukumar film has been special for Devi. They even produced a film together. Sukumar’s films without Devi seem unimaginable.
So why was Devi dropped from Pushpa 2 despite his strong bond with Sukumar?
According to reliable sources, the decision didn’t come from director Sukumar; it was the hero, Bunny, who made the call.
Apparently, after finalizing the work for Pushpa 2: The First Half, Bunny handed it over to Devi, but Devi focused on his stage shows instead of the project. This disregard reportedly angered Bunny.
At the same time, a director close to Bunny allegedly fueled the situation further, questioning whether Devi prioritized his shows over Bunny's film. Given the pressure to release the film on time, Bunny reportedly took these words to heart.
As a result, the work was reassigned to a team of three other music directors. Sukumar found himself unable to defend Devi in this situation. This issue didn’t arise suddenly but had been brewing for some time.
Sources say that Devi even approached Sukumar directly to discuss it, but Sukumar reportedly expressed disinterest, leading Devi to leave without much discussion.
