Deepika Padukone recently took to social media to announce that she is expecting her second child with husband Ranveer Singh, sparking a wave of joy and excitement across the industry. However, the development also led to murmurs in trade circles, as Deepika reportedly still has around 50 days of shoot left for Atlee’s much-awaited Raka, headlined by Allu Arjun. Many assumed that the filmmaker would be concerned by the unexpected turn of events, given the scale and schedule of the project.

But we have exclusively learnt that Atlee has been more than just supportive towards Deepika Padukone. “Atlee was overjoyed when he heard the news of Deepika’s pregnancy. Instead of panicking on his shoot schedule, he sat down with his team and came up with a plan B. Most of the key action sequences featuring Deepika Padukone will now be done using her body double. The actress has already given some close up sequences and the same will be merged using VFX for the final print,” a source close to the production shared with Bollywood Hungama.

The film features an action packed role for Deepika, and the makers don’t want to risk by pushing her to perform all those stunts. “Deepika has a stellar entry, as also a big action moment with Allu Arjun. All of those will now be done by a double, whereas Deepika will continue to shoot the dramatic moments. Her role stays intact, with no deletion what so ever. She is a key protagonist of Raka, and nothing changes due to pregnancy.”

The team of King too has fast tracked the shoots with Deepika Padukone to ensure that all the action and song moments are done in the early stages, without wanting her to push too much. All in all, the actress is on a roll, unstoppable and slaying like a boss.

Also Read: “She’s my lucky charm”: Atlee on Deepika Padukone, says she will be seen in a “very different” avatar in AA22XA6