Buzz: Bollywood Stars Scared Of Jr NTR

There’s a strong buzz doing rounds in film circles that casting for the antagonist in Dragon is turning out to be tougher than expected. The reason being discussed? Jr NTR. After the exit of Tovino Thomas from this role, the makers are finding it tough, and it’s more due to Jr NTR but nothing else.

It might sound exaggerated at first, but those who’ve seen NTR perform know exactly what this means. When he’s performing out there, he dominates every frame. Be it Temper, Aravinda Sametha, or RRR, his screen presence has a way of pulling all the attention towards him, even in multi-starrer setups. Now, Dragon is being mounted on a massive scale, and the team is reportedly looking at Bollywood actors for a powerful negative role after Tovino’s exit. Names like Shahid Kapoor and a few others have been in discussion. What’s interesting is that despite lucrative offers, stars are not signing the Dragon Challenge.

The concern is simple. Sharing screen space with NTR in a full-fledged, performance-heavy role is a risk. If the character isn’t designed perfectly, there’s every chance of getting overshadowed. And in today’s pan-India market, even the slightest below-par performance results in instant negative reviews on social media.

At the same time, this also puts pressure on the makers. They need a villain who is not just popular, but also has the calibre and confidence to stand tall opposite NTR. Well, for now there’s no clarity over this, as KGF maker Prashanth Neel maintains pindrop silence regarding every update.