With Baahubali’s gargantuan success, Rana Daggubati has finally become a pan-Indian actor. He was menacing as the macho antagonist Bhallaladeva in the film. In contrast, his upcoming role in Bangalore Naatkal, a Telugu and Tamil remake of the Malayalam film Bangalore Days, will see him play a more simpler character.
“I shed 25 kilos of my Baahubali weight”, reveals the star who is excited about his character in Bangalore Naatkal — “I play Shiva Das, the role that was portrayed by Fahad Fazil in the original film. Shiva is someone I could quickly relate to. When Bhaskar and PVP asked me to essay the role, I was ecstatic! I also had great co-stars,” Rana says.
The actor adds that the death of his grandfather and role model Ramanaidu however, was a big blow.
“You can never overcome certain losses. My grandfather believed that “work is worship”. Nonetheless, life goes on. In following what he said, I have been signing new films in full swing.”
Does he look at his career as before and after Baahubali? “Obviously! That movie broke boundaries. It became big in Tamil Nadu, a bigger hit in Hindi and a massive success in Telugu. Baahubali 2 has become a brand already and I am happy that my belief was proven true,” Rana says.
Ask him if he believes in multi-starrers, and he replies , “I believe in films”.
When we ask him if we can see Rana as a solo hero in Tamil — “I just started shooting the Hindi-Telugu bilingual Ghazi, based on the true story of a Pakistani submarine that mysteriously sank in 1971, under debutant Sankalp Reddy’s direction. Given my commitments, if I find time for a Tamil movie, sure I will do it!”
The moment you ask about his marriage, Rana swiftly responds. “I am not in a relationship with anyone! There is a lot of time and effort one needs to put into relationships, which is something I cannot afford to do right now. Let me complete my films, marriage can wait!” he says.
