Padmavati fallout? Aditi Rao Hydari may replace Deepika at Ivanka event

Deepika Padukone has opted out as the celebrity speaker at the Global Entrepreneur Summit to be inaugurated by Ivanka Trump and PM Modi

Bollywood actress Aditi Rao Hydari is likely to be the last-minute entry as a celebrity speaker at the eighth edition of the Global Entrepreneur Summit to be held in Hyderabad from Nov 28 to 30. Jayesh Ranjan, IT and commerce secretary in the government of Telangana told Business Standard “It’s work in progress.” But Aditi’s confirmation is expected by the end of the day.

After Deepika Padukone dropped out of the summit on Monday, the state govt, which is jointly organising the summit along with the Centre and the US, got into the damage-control mode to find a celebrity speaker.

Nobody is giving reasons for Deepika opting out. It is learnt that threat perception over the controversy surrounding her film Padmavati, in which she has played the lead role, is the reason. Interestingly, Aditi had recently spoken out against those threatening Deepika with dire consequences over her role in Padmavati.

The global summit, for the first time in India, is in the limelight because US President Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka Trump is also attending it. Ivanka, along with PM Narendra Modi, will inaugurate the summit.