Actor Prakash Raj has dismissed reports claiming that he exited Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s upcoming film Spirit due to creative differences, clarifying that he remains part of the project.

Speculation around his alleged exit had been doing the rounds over the past few days. Addressing the rumours, Prakash Raj took to his X account on Monday to set the record straight.

“To all the toxic #Fakenews peddlers…. On #Spirit the movie . We have not even started shooting for my scenes... and you WhatsApp factories speculate on stories. Grow up and have a life,” he wrote.

Spirit, directed by Sandeep Reddy Vanga, stars Prabhas in the lead role, with Triptii Dimri as his love interest. The cast also includes Vivek Oberoi and Kanchana in key roles.

Initially, Deepika Padukone was supposed to play the female lead in the film. However, she walked out of the project due to disagreements with the makers over working hours.

Spirit is backed by Bhushan Kumar’s T-Series in collaboration with Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s Bhadrakali Pictures.

On January 1, Sandeep Reddy Vanga unveiled the film’s first-look poster, featuring Prabhas with long hair, a rugged beard and moustache, standing shirtless with his back to the camera. His body is shown bruised and wrapped in bandages, while Triptii Dimri is seen beside him lighting a cigarette.

Earlier, on Prabhas’ birthday last year, Vanga had shared the first ‘sound story’ from the film. The audio features a conversation between a jailer and his assistant discussing an ex-cop in remand, culminating in Prabhas’ voice saying, “Sir, since childhood, I have one bad habit.”

Meanwhile, Prakash Raj was last seen in the Hindi film Tere Ishk Mein, directed by Aanand L Rai. He played Dhanush’s father in the film, which also starred Kriti Sanon and is currently streaming on Netflix.