Dragon beyond Jr NTR: Meet the other monsters from Prashanth Neel's world
Jr NTR may lead Dragon as the ruthless Luger, but the film's explosive supporting cast could steal the spotlight just as easily. Here's why Prashanth Neel's dark opium-war world looks stacked with scene-stealers.
By now, you've probably seen the glimpse. Jr NTR as Luger - cold-eyed, ruthless, running an opium syndicate in a 1960s world where the British have left India but their most profitable legacy, the global drug trade, very much hasn't. Director Prashanth Neel has called it the darkest character he has ever written, a "pure villain" role, and the riskiest of NTR's career. Fair enough. But here's the thing: Dragon's cast is so stacked that even the man at the centre of it all is going to have to work hard to hold your attention when these lot are on the screen.
So while everyone is busy talking about Luger, here's a proper look at the rest of the ensemble worth getting excited about.
Anil Kapoor as Raghuveer Rathod
Every great villain needs a worthy opponent, and Dragon has cast Anil Kapoor as Raghuveer Rathod, the Chief of India's Narcotics Bureau and the man standing directly between Luger and his empire. It's a role built for someone with the kind of screen presence that doesn't shrink under pressure and Kapoor, as anyone who has watched him work will tell you, certainly doesn't do that.
The Narcotics Bureau vs the Afghan Trading Company. That's the battle at the heart of Dragon and if the 69-year-old brings even half the intensity the premise demands, this one's going to be something.
Sidhant Gupta as Boby Sarkar
This is perhaps the most intriguing casting in the entire film. Sidhant Gupta. Known to most for his layered work in Jubilee, his striking Jawaharlal Nehru act in Freedom at Midnight and his chilling portrayal of Charles Sobhraj in Black Warrant, makes his Pan-Indian cinema debut with Dragon. He plays Boby Sarkar, Luger's brother, and 'the Wazir' - the strategist of the Afghan Trading Company. Interestingly, Malayalam actor Tovino Thomas was originally in the talks for this role before Gupta came on board.
What makes this casting exciting is Gupta's track record of picking roles that require real depth rather than just presence. A strategist operating in the shadows of a global drug empire, alongside Jr NTR no less - this is a serious step-up, and from what the glimpse suggests, he's arrived in an avatar nobody has seen of him before.
Biju Menon as Jaleel Rahman
Biju Menon is the kind of actor who elevates every scene he walks into and in Dragon he plays Jaleel Rahman, the Afghanistan Logistics Head of the drug empire. It's a role that sits right at the operational heart of the syndicate — the person who keeps the machine running. Menon brings a quiet, authoritative intensity to everything he does and in a film this sprawling, having someone of his calibre anchoring the logistics side of the cartel adds real weight to the world Prashanth Neel is building.
Anshuman Pushkar as Sujoy Sarkar
If you watched 12th Fail or Jamtara, you already know what Anshuman Pushkar is capable of. In Dragon, he plays Sujoy Sarkar, part of a ruthless collective of nine primary villains in the film. He operates directly under Dada Sarkar, played by Ashwath Rana, who runs the Afghan Trading Company at the top. It's a dense, layered villain ecosystem and Pushkar is exactly the kind of actor who can make even a supporting antagonist feel genuinely dangerous rather than decorative.
Bimal Oberoi as The Trainer
Perhaps the most intriguing wildcard in the cast: Bimal Oberoi, who shot to widespread attention with his breakout role as Shirani Baloch in Aditya Dhar's Dhurandhar and its sequel. He plays a character known as The Trainer, the head of a lethal, highly skilled group of assassins operating under the Afghan Trading Company. Given how memorable his work in Dhurandhar was, there's real curiosity around what he does here with a character that sounds, on paper, like one of the more physically and dramatically demanding roles in the film. His getup reminds us of the Shirani, though.
The Wider Ensemble
Beyond the above, Dragon also features Khushbu Sundar, Guru Somasundaram, Ashutosh Rana and Rajeev Kanakala in the ensemble, with Rukmini Vasanth as the female lead. Specific character details for most of these have been kept tightly under wraps, which, honestly, only adds to the anticipation.
Dragon is set for release on June 11, 2027. Going by the glimpse, the film appears to have a large-scale setting, a dark tone, and a backdrop centred on a 1960s opium war. Jr NTR may be the dragon at the centre of it all, but this cast suggests the fire is going to come from every direction.
By now, you've probably seen the glimpse. Jr NTR as Luger - cold-eyed, ruthless, running an opium syndicate in a 1960s world where the British have left India but their most profitable legacy, the global drug trade, very much hasn't. Director Prashanth Neel has called it the darkest character he has ever written, a "pure villain" role, and the riskiest of NTR's career. Fair enough. But here's the thing: Dragon's cast is so stacked that even the man at the centre of it all is going to have to work hard to hold your attention when these lot are on the screen.
So while everyone is busy talking about Luger, here's a proper look at the rest of the ensemble worth getting excited about.
Anil Kapoor as Raghuveer Rathod
Every great villain needs a worthy opponent, and Dragon has cast Anil Kapoor as Raghuveer Rathod, the Chief of India's Narcotics Bureau and the man standing directly between Luger and his empire. It's a role built for someone with the kind of screen presence that doesn't shrink under pressure and Kapoor, as anyone who has watched him work will tell you, certainly doesn't do that.
The Narcotics Bureau vs the Afghan Trading Company. That's the battle at the heart of Dragon and if the 69-year-old brings even half the intensity the premise demands, this one's going to be something.
Sidhant Gupta as Boby Sarkar
This is perhaps the most intriguing casting in the entire film. Sidhant Gupta. Known to most for his layered work in Jubilee, his striking Jawaharlal Nehru act in Freedom at Midnight and his chilling portrayal of Charles Sobhraj in Black Warrant, makes his Pan-Indian cinema debut with Dragon. He plays Boby Sarkar, Luger's brother, and 'the Wazir' - the strategist of the Afghan Trading Company. Interestingly, Malayalam actor Tovino Thomas was originally in the talks for this role before Gupta came on board.
What makes this casting exciting is Gupta's track record of picking roles that require real depth rather than just presence. A strategist operating in the shadows of a global drug empire, alongside Jr NTR no less - this is a serious step-up, and from what the glimpse suggests, he's arrived in an avatar nobody has seen of him before.
Biju Menon as Jaleel Rahman
Biju Menon is the kind of actor who elevates every scene he walks into and in Dragon he plays Jaleel Rahman, the Afghanistan Logistics Head of the drug empire. It's a role that sits right at the operational heart of the syndicate — the person who keeps the machine running. Menon brings a quiet, authoritative intensity to everything he does and in a film this sprawling, having someone of his calibre anchoring the logistics side of the cartel adds real weight to the world Prashanth Neel is building.
Anshuman Pushkar as Sujoy Sarkar
If you watched 12th Fail or Jamtara, you already know what Anshuman Pushkar is capable of. In Dragon, he plays Sujoy Sarkar, part of a ruthless collective of nine primary villains in the film. He operates directly under Dada Sarkar, played by Ashwath Rana, who runs the Afghan Trading Company at the top. It's a dense, layered villain ecosystem and Pushkar is exactly the kind of actor who can make even a supporting antagonist feel genuinely dangerous rather than decorative.
Bimal Oberoi as The Trainer
Perhaps the most intriguing wildcard in the cast: Bimal Oberoi, who shot to widespread attention with his breakout role as Shirani Baloch in Aditya Dhar's Dhurandhar and its sequel. He plays a character known as The Trainer, the head of a lethal, highly skilled group of assassins operating under the Afghan Trading Company. Given how memorable his work in Dhurandhar was, there's real curiosity around what he does here with a character that sounds, on paper, like one of the more physically and dramatically demanding roles in the film. His getup reminds us of the Shirani, though.
The Wider Ensemble
Beyond the above, Dragon also features Khushbu Sundar, Guru Somasundaram, Ashutosh Rana and Rajeev Kanakala in the ensemble, with Rukmini Vasanth as the female lead. Specific character details for most of these have been kept tightly under wraps, which, honestly, only adds to the anticipation.
Dragon is set for release on June 11, 2027. Going by the glimpse, the film appears to have a large-scale setting, a dark tone, and a backdrop centred on a 1960s opium war. Jr NTR may be the dragon at the centre of it all, but this cast suggests the fire is going to come from every direction.
