Manoj Manchu is celebrating his 41st birthday today, May 20, and on this special occasion, the actor has announced his comeback to the acting world after a hiatus of 7 years. The actor is set to star in Teja Sajja's next highly anticipated movie Mirai.

Manoj Manchu to star as The Black Sword in Mirai

Taking to his Instagram handle, Manoj shared the first look of his character The Black Sword. In the poster, the actor can be seen in a never-seen-before avatar looking all intense and powerful against a dramatic backdrop of a ravaged landscape. Seeing his avatar, it seems the actor will be playing the antagonist role, who has come from the world of dark. Sharing the poster, the actor wrote, "I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time to present you all a new me a.ka. #TheBlackSword from #MIRAI. And can’t get a better occasion than this to give u all a special treat on my birthday with the glimpse!! Hope you’ll love it"

The actor signed off by saying that it was a privilege to join forces with a "very special" team.

What else do we know about Mirai?

Directed by Karthik Ghattamneni and also starring Ritika Nayak, the over 1-minute teaser offers a glimpse into the fantasy world where Teja will essay the role of Super Warrior. In April, the makers unveiled the first glimpse of the movie, offering a glimpse into the fantasy world where Teja will essay the role of Super Yodha. The teaser opens on a mystical land where a monk narrates a girl about King Ashoka. He says, "There lived a Samrat Ashoka. His war on Kalinga remains etched in history as a black era. From his regret, emerged a divine secret that there are 9 scriptures capable of transforming a person into a god. To make sure they exist for generations, 9 warriors were formed and chose their successors." However, the monk warns that now a force is getting close to the divine scriptures and requests for warriors to rise to protect it. As he utters these words, enters Teja Sajja holding a yo (staff) in his hand, who is sent to stop - a dark force - from reaching the secret. He is shown as a karra saamu (traditional stick fighting) expert.

TG Vishwa Prasad is producing Mirai under People Media Factory, with Vivek Kuchibhotla as the co-producer. The score has been composed by Gowra Hari. The period drama will release in multiple languages -  Telugu, Hindi, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, Bengali, Marathi and Chinese - on April 18, 2025.