Sidhant Gupta joins Jr NTR's Dragon cast

Sidhant Gupta has emerged as the newest reported addition to Dragon, the Jr NTR-Prashanth Neel film whose first teaser was released this week. LatestLY reported on May 21 that Gupta has been confirmed for a role in the film and described it as his South Indian cinema debut, while other entertainment outlets said he is set to play Jr NTR’s on-screen brother. (latestly.com) The update landed a day after the makers unveiled the first glimpse of the film under its official title, Dragon, ending months in which the project had been referred to publicly as NTRNeel. (zoomtventertainment.com) Hindustan Times and other India-based outlets reported on May 20 that the teaser introduced Jr NTR in a violent action setting and confirmed the title. (hindustantimes.com) Anil Kapoor’s role also drew attention after Zoom TV reported on May 20 that he appears in the teaser as Raghuveer Rathod, identified there as the Chief of the Narcotics Bureau of India. Separate entertainment coverage carried the same character description. (latestly.com) ### Where does Sidhant Gupta fit into the cast? LatestLY reported on May 21 that Gupta is replacing the previously rumored Tovino Thomas in a pivotal role as the protagonist’s brother. Times Now and Bollywood Hungama separately reported that Gupta would play Jr NTR’s brother in the film. Tovino Thomas’s exit has been described by some outlets as a scheduling issue, though that detail appears in secondary entertainment reporting rather than a formal production statement. (hindustantimes.com) Gulte said Thomas opted out because of date clashes. ### What did the teaser confirm beyond the title? The May 20 teaser confirmed Dragon as the title for the Jr NTR-Prashanth Neel collaboration and gave the first broad look at the film’s world. (zoomtventertainment.com) Hindustan Times said the footage showed Jr NTR “breathing fire” and standing atop a pile of bodies, while The Week described his character as Luger and said the story setup involved drug-trading empires and the government. (latestly.com) The Week also listed Biju Menon, Rukmini Vasanth, Khushbu Sundar, Guru Somasundaram and Ashutosh Rana among the cast seen in the teaser. That outlet said Kapoor’s character raises the conflict between the criminal network and the state. (gulte.com) ### Why is Anil Kapoor’s role getting singled out? Zoom TV’s May 20 report focused on Kapoor’s character introduction, naming him as Raghuveer Rathod and identifying him as the narcotics chief. Filmibeat and Urban Asian published matching descriptions after the teaser release. That made Kapoor’s part one of the clearest pieces of new plot information to come out of the teaser, alongside the title reveal and Gupta’s reported casting. (hindustantimes.com) No standalone production note detailing Rathod’s arc was visible in the materials reviewed. ### How has Jr NTR responded to the teaser reaction? Jr NTR said on May 21 that the teaser response had given the team “a lot of confidence,” according to Moneycontrol. (theweek.in) India Today and Odisha TV also reported that he thanked fans and credited director Prashanth Neel for envisioning the film. The next concrete milestone is further official material from the makers of Dragon, whose first glimpse was released on May 20 and whose expanding cast now includes Jr NTR, Prashanth Neel’s announced ensemble and, according to multiple reports this week, Sidhant Gupta. (zoomtventertainment.com) (hindustantimes.com) (moneycontrol.com)