As the New Year 2026 arrived, filmmaker Sandeep Reddy Vanga marked the moment with a familiar move. At the stroke of midnight, the makers of Spirit dropped the first poster of the film, featuring Prabhas and Triptii Dimri in strikingly intense avatars. The reveal quickly grabbed attention, but it also triggered sharp criticism online.
First Poster Of Prabhas And Triptii Dimri’s Spirit Draws Criticism Online
Vanga had followed the same strategy with Animal, whose first announcement also arrived at midnight on New Year’s. This time, the team shared the poster and wrote, “Let’s welcome the New Year with the first poster high on #Spirit.”
The Spirit first look sets a dark and brooding tone. Prabhas appears with long hair, a thick beard and a heavy moustache. He stands shirtless with his back facing the camera. Bruises and bandages are clearly visible across his shoulder, arm and back. These details hint at a character shaped by violence, pain and inner conflict.
He wears loose white trousers and a cigarette rests between his lips. In one hand, he holds a glass of alcohol.
Standing beside him is Triptii Dimri. She is dressed in a simple, muted-colour saree. In a quiet yet loaded moment, she lights Prabhas’ cigarette. Her expression is calm and focused, adding tension to the scene. The setting appears to be indoors, with soft natural light coming through a window. A faint city skyline can be seen in the background.
Sharing the posters, makers wrote, “You loved what existed before. Now fall in love with what you never knew existed.”
Within hours, the Spirit poster went viral. Along with the buzz came heavy trolling. Many users compared the visuals to Vanga’s earlier films such as Kabir Singh, Arjun Reddy and Animal. Several felt the director was repeating the same themes and imagery.
Read some online comments on Reddit below:
“Vanga saw Dhurandhar and must have liked Rehman Dakait’s wife lighting his cigarette for him. Completely bypassing the context of the scene, he just picked it up and put it in his style.”
“Herogiri fufu Karne Mein nahi.”
“Another Toxic Masculinity protagonist who treats his Wife as an Animal but still loves him….”
“Destroying your lungs with cancer is Vanga’s definition of an alpha male, clearly.”
“Cigarette+ Alcohol+ beard + long hair && unreasonable anger is the signature of vanga films kinda bored with these things now..”
“I’m glad Deepika isn’t a part of this shit show.”
“Spirit and Kabir Singh poster look like a cheap copy. Arjun Reddy and Animal had way better posters.”
“I hope people don’t watch his films. He is too much misogynistic in nature.”
“Beards, beards everywhere and a whole lotta misogyny in the air.”
“Rehman Baloch ki copy.”
About Spirit Movie
Despite the backlash, Spirit remains one of the most talked-about upcoming films. Apart from Prabhas and Triptii Dimri, the cast includes Vivek Oberoi, Kanchana, and Prakash Raj. Reports suggest that Prabhas will play a cop, while Triptii will be seen as his love interest.
There were earlier rumours that Deepika Padukone was considered for the role. However, she reportedly stepped away due to work-hour issues with Vanga, after which Triptii came on board.
Spirit is written, edited and directed by Sandeep Reddy Vanga. The film is produced by Bhushan Kumar, Pranay Reddy Vanga, Krishan Kumar and Prabhakar Reddy Vanga. The makers plan a wide release across Telugu, Hindi, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, Mandarin, Japanese and Korean.
