On Friday, Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s upcoming film Spirit unveiled a new character poster, giving the first glimpse of Vivek Oberoi in the film. A social media post from the production house followed, tagging all the actors, the director, and technicians from the film. However, one name was notably absent in the list – actor Prakash Raj. HT has exclusively learnt that the actor is no longer a part of the film.
Prakash Raj no longer in Spirit
Prakash Raj was announced as part of the Spirit cast last year. However, earlier this month, an OTTPlay report had claimed that after a heated exchange with director Vanga, Prakash Raj had walked out of the film. According to the report, the issue was about the script and how a scene was being shot. However, Prakash Raj later took a shot at the reports on his Twitter. “To all the toxic #Fakenews peddlers…. On #Spirit the movie. We have not even started shooting for my scenes .. and you whatsup factories speculate stories. Grow up and have a life,” he said.
But after his name was absent from the list of cast and crew members in the new Spirit asset, speculations again grew. A source has now confirmed to HT that Prakash Raj is no longer part of Spirit. There is no information on who replaces him in the film.
Vivek Oberoi’s first look from Spirit
Meanwhile, on Friday, T-Series and Sandeep Reddy Vanga shared Vivek Oberoi’s first look from Spirit. This is only the second visual from the film to be out, after the first look that featured Prabhas and Triptii Dimri and was shared on New Year’s Eve 2025. Vivek Oberoi’s poster also introduces Aishwarya Desai, a fresh face stepping into a significant role in the ambitious project.
All about Vanga’s Spirit
Spirit stars Prabhas and Triptii Dimri in the lead roles. The ambitious pan-India film is Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s first since Animal and the filmmaker’s return to Telugu cinema after a decade. His last Telugu release was the 2017 hit Arjun Reddy. Vanga moved to Hindi films with its remake Kabir Singh, before giving his biggest hit, the Ranbir Kapoor-starrer Animal. The film earned ₹915 crore worldwide.
Makers of Spirit are hoping that the Prabhas-starrer does even better. And it has all the weapons in its arsenal to do so. Described as a large-scale ‘pan-world entertainer’, Spirit is set to release in 8 languages. Produced by Bhushan Kumar under the T-Series banner, it will hit the screens on March 5, 2027.
