It is now a well-known fact that veteran actor Sridevi was initially being considered for the role of Sivagami, the queen mother of Mahishmathi, in director SS Rajamouli's magnum opus Baahubali saga.
The role was portrayed by Ramya Krishnan after Sridevi turned down the offer after supposedly having made outrageous demands, as Rajamouli would later state in an interview.
However, the controversy around the casting became intense after Sridevi denied having made any such demands.
Following the veteran actor's outburst, Rajamouli in a bid to end the controversy said that he should not have spoken about this matter in public.
While he did not deny having made those comments in the first place, speaking to DNA, the director said, "As for whose version to believe, I guess it is for people to decide. But one thing is for sure. I shouldn't have discussed the details on a public platform. That's a mistake. And I regret it."
In an interview earlier this year, Rajamouli had said that Sridevi made several demands, especially regarding her remuneration, when the offer was made to her.
According to The Times of India, she asked for five business class tickets, an entire floor of a five-star hotel, a share of profits from the Hindi film market and Rs 8 crore in remuneration. TNM was not able to independently confirm this, however.
Rajamouli reportedly even said that "It was good that we did not cast her in Baahubali".
An upset Sridevi, whose recent movie Mom is running in theatres, after listening to Rajamouli's statement had said that she had never made any such demands.
"I've acted in hundreds of films. If I'd made such demands, do you think anyone would have repeated me in their films? My career would have been finished a long time ago," she had said.