After Virat Kohli, Tamannaah Bhatia 'falls prey to' algorithm, says Instagram 'liked' Deepika Padukone video on its own

Tamannaah Bhatia liked a reel on Instagram featuring Deepika Padukone, but later shared a story saying the platform liked it ‘on its own’.

Actor Tamannaah Bhatia in a subtle and cryptic way, came forward to support Deepika Padukone amid a row over Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s Spirit. She has liked an Instagram reel that lists key issues women stand against, including gender pay gaps, working overtime, unprofessionalism, and misogyny.

Tamannaah Bhatia was most recently seen in the supernatural thriller Odela 2.

Tamannaah Bhatia likes the reel

The actor has liked a reel on Instagram which talks about the propaganda women are not ready to fall for. It is a throwback video when Deepika Padukone shunned a reporter when asked whether Ranveer Singh has put money in her production venture Chhapaak.

For context, the video is from a press conference for her production venture Chhapaak in 2020. At the event, a reporter told Deepika that her husband Ranveer Singh has invested money in the film. She was amused with the statement and said, “Excuse me, yeh mere khud ke paise hain. Kisne bola yeh? (Who said this to you? This is my money) Excuse me, It is my own money”.

The reel comes with the text, “Propaganda she is not falling for: Disrespect, men, sexism, gender pay gap, working overtime, unprofessionalism, misogyny, and double standards”.

It comes at a time when accusations are being hurled at Deepika for being unprofessional. The controversy sparked a debate about actors advocating for standard working hours, and Tamannaah's like on a reel highlighting women's rights issues appears to be a subtle show of support for Deepika's stance.

She has liked the post.

About the Deepika and Sandeep controversy

Several reports cited "unprofessional" demands as the reason for Deepika's departure. Bollywood Hungama quoted a source as saying, “Sandeep Reddy Vanga got the shock of his life when Deepika Padukone refused to shoot for more than six hours a day for Spirit. That’s not all—the actress, via her agency, also began to demand amendments to the contract. Their main contention was simple: if the shoot extended beyond 100 days, Deepika would need to be paid extra for every single day beyond the agreed schedule”.

Sandeep also took to social media to address rumours surrounding Spirit. After Pinkvilla carried a report detailing Spirit's plot and details earlier this week, the Animal director took to X to imply that the leak had come from Deepika. He fired back at a report insinuating that Triptii Dimri would be "pushing boundaries" with her intimate scenes in the film.

Tamannaah clarifies the ‘like’

Later on Wednesday, Tamannaah clarified saying she did not like the Reel. She posted an Instagram Story with a selfie of herself rolling her eyes. While she did not mention the Deepika video, she wrote alongside, “Can Instagram pls figure out how it likes pages on its own, cause random people are making it news and I have work to do.”

Tamannaah Bhatia's Instagram Story.

She was most recently seen in the supernatural thriller Odela 2 in which she was seen in the role of a sadhvi. While Odela Railway Station was a crime thriller, Odela 2, which also stars Hebah Patel, the female lead of the original film, takes a supernatural route. Tamannaah's character Shiva Shakthi is seen coming to Odela, a village protected by the deity Odela Mallanna Swamy, to fight an evil that claims to control the five elements.