Rana Daggubati: Big, massy hero

He started out as a visual effects producer and made it big as an actor in 'Baahubali'

Rana Daggubati doesn’t really need an introduction. After his massive hit as the main antagonist in the ‘Baahubali’ series, Rana has become a household name across industries.
He’s one of the few actors who does both leading roles and supporting roles without hesitation. His fans applaud him for that.

Apart from building a movie career, the actor has also invested in technology startups, entertainment agency and a comic book company.

Showtime caught up with him when he visited Bengaluru for the Under 25 Summit last weekend.

Excerpts from the interview:

Does it bother you that you’re constantly identified as Bhallaldeva from ‘Baahubali’?
Firstly, it’s very difficult to look like that fellow again because he’s quite bulky. But there’s no pressure to continue to be that way. In fact, I think the fun part about my job is that none of my characters look the same. I don’t like that I have to wake up as the same person and go to work. Which is why I’m not working in an office. So as soon as I finished ‘Baahubali’, the next role that I did was a biopic about NTR where I played Chandrababu Naidu. The roles and the looks were so different. Even the other film that I have been shooting for two years now, called ‘Haathi Mere Saathi’ in Hindi, ‘Kaadan’ in Tamil and ‘Aranya’ in Telugu, has me at half the size I am now and sporting a beard that’s as long as my chest. But I don’t select roles for its look; it’s about finding the right content. If I'm going to go back to do another war film, I will be typecast. So if you can find a new story to tell soon, the tag of Bhallaldeva will go away. Regardless of that, it's always fun to be remembered for the good stuff.

You seem to pick a lot of long-drawn projects. Is that intentional?
In my first couple of years, I acted in about five to six films. Then came ‘Baahubali’ which took about five years and then ‘Haathi Mere Saathi’ took two and a half years. It’s not intentional — it just takes a long time to finish a project. I keep doing some character roles in between like I did for ‘Housefull 4’. I do like to get out of the prolonged projects; being stuck in a role for over two years is not that great. This year, I'll probably have two releases.

You’re involved in multiple aspects of the film industry but you’ve not ventured into direction yet…
I was a visual effects producer and a line producer before. It’s been a decade since I’ve been an actor and I’ve also ventured into production. I think directing brings out a very personal voice which is foreign to me. I haven’t chosen any of the films I’ve worked in, the films chose me. In fact, my debut role in ‘Leader’ was written for someone else. I believe that a story finds you. So, if a story pushes me into directing then nothing can stop me.

Your thoughts on Indian film industry and technology.
When we were making ‘Baahubali’, we had to create a lot from scratch. I used to keep seeing Rajamouli and the VFX supervisors breaking their heads to get things done. Invention happens only when there is a pressing need here. It’s not constant. So, when I got back into tech, I didn’t want to get into a service-based business. I wanted to start understanding which fields needed innovation. Now, we have people in AI, VR, and in anything that is going to help a story be told efficiently.

But do you feel that it’s not enough in the industry?
Tech is very, very heavy in India, but not the entertainment industry. It’s not that we don’t have filmmakers or artistes to work with, it's just that there are other parts to this business that haven’t come together yet. Currently, only artistes are figuring things out and that's not the way it should be. We need more tech people to join this partnership. Unless there’s somebody shouting out loud that a tech person or someone who knows AI is needed, they don’t think they have a place in the industry. I’m hoping to bridge that gap.

Is there pressure to stay relevant?
When you’re young, you tend to aim to just get that first film made or get your first big break. That’s not what it should be about. It should be about making good timeless content.
I'm relevant today because ‘Leader’ is relevant today. It’s also about having a sustained career. You want to be able to do this as a lifestyle and not just as a job. I work about 12 to 13-hours a day and I have a blast doing what I do. That’s what is important.