Prashanth Neel declares Jr NTR agreeing to do Dragon was one of the most difficult decisions: ‘It is very risky’

Prashanth Neel shared how it took the team 3 years to come up with a particular reason for Jr NTR's character in the script for Dragon.

Jr NTR and Prashanth Neel teased fans with the first glimpse of Dragon on Tuesday, and fans are already excited to know more. However, fans will have to wait till June next year to see the film on screen. Director Prashanth Neel has opened up about the film in a conversation with Galatta Plus, and shared what led to the collaboration with Jr NTR. (Also read: Jr NTR thanks fans for overwhelming response to Dragon glimpse, gives all credit to director Prashanth Neel)

Jr NTR in a still from Dragon, which will release next year.

What Prashanth said about Jr NTR

During the chat, Prashanth opened up about how the actor came on board. He said, "Five years ago we met and when I told him the line of the movie… I am not going to be presumptious of the fact that I want to be humble all the time, but I think this is probably one of the most difficult decisions that he had to take to play this character. Not because of what is there in the trailer, but what the drama of the movie is. It was one of the biggest decisions that he has to take to play this particular role.

‘It is very risky for a star of his magnitude’

He went on to add, “By the end of this film, everyone will know why I am saying this. It is a dark character. It is probably more darker than any character, not probably, it is the darkest character I have written. For him to play something like that, and the only question he asked was for every character being right or wrong, is the drama right for it? Is there a reason for it? It took us 3 years to come up with that reasoning, to arrive at that point to validate why that character does what he does. At the end, he said let us do it. It is very risky for a star of his magnitude. For someone who is loved all over the country. What he is doing is absolutely brave.”

In the glimpse, Jr NTR is seen in the role of a ruthless killer amid the land of villains who strive to control the opium business. In one of the scenes from the glimpse, the actor was seen standing on the top of a mountain amid a pile of dead bodies. NTR is shown, all guns blazing, taking on villain after villain single-handedly in a place reminiscent of the coal fields of Salaar and the gold mines of KGF.

Dragon also stars Biju Menon, Rukmini Vasanth, Khushbu Sundar, Guru Somasundaram, Rajeev Kanakala, Ashutosh Rana, Anshuman Pushkar, Sidhant Gupta among others.