Noted producer Ravi Shankar of Mythri Movie Makers is currently riding high on Pushpa 2’s success. The production banner also recently distributed Pradeep Ranganathan’s Return of the Dragon in Telugu and scored another blockbuster. Speaking at the film’s success meet, the producer talked about comparisons of the title with Jr NTR’s upcoming film, helmed by Prashanth Neel, which is also reported to have been titled Dragon. “I would not belittle Pradeep’s film. These guys made a superb film in this genre. Whereas NTR and Neel’s film is a high-voltage entertainer. It will have an international release. If this is a junior Dragon, that one is a bigger Dragon. We have to wait,” he said.

The Prashanth Neel directorial has officially began shooting at Ramoji Film City in Hyderabad recently. The film, which was recently launched, has now entered its first schedule. The makers shot a large-scale sequence featuring over 3,000 junior artists. Jr NTR is expected to join the shoot in the next schedule. The film is being aimed for a January 2026 release in pan-Indian languages of Telugu, Tamil, Hindi, Kannada, and Malayalam, targeting the Sankranti festival season. 

The production team from Neel’s previous projects is set to continue working on this film. The director, known for his commercially successful films like KGF and Salaar, aims to present NTR in a new light. The collaboration between NTR and Neel has generated significant anticipation among audiences.

Produced by Naveen Yerneni, Ravi Shankar Yalamanchili, Kalyan Ram Nandamuri, and Hari Krishna Kosaraju, the film is backed under the Mythri Movie Makers and NTR Arts banners. Bhuvan Gowda is handling cinematography, while Ravi Basrur will compose the music. Reports suggest that Rukmini Vasanth has been finalised as the female lead. However, official confirmation is awaited.