Rana Daggubati talks about Baahubali and acting with Akshay Kumar in Baby

In an industry better known for heroes with panache and paunches, Rana Daggubati is something of an exception. Tall, muscled and handsome, Daggubati stands out among his fellow actors, and not just because of his height. There’s a lot more to him than his photogenic looks. The son of a renowned Telugu producer, Daggubati actually began his film career behind the scenes. He worked as a visual effects producer and a photographer before finally deciding to stand before the lens instead of behind it. It’s only been four years since he made his debut with the Telugu blockbuster Leader and now Daggubati has some of the biggest Telugu films in his kitty as well as a fledgling career in Bollywood. Currently shooting for Neeraj Pandey’s Baby with Akshay Kumar, Daggubati spoke about what success means to him. [caption id=“attachment_1707493” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Courtesy: Facebook[/caption] When you decided to be an actor, you were overweight and not the fit Rana that you are today. Acting is a visual medium. My earlier jobs didn’t require me to be fit. To be an actor, I required other skillsets. Now I think I am one of the fittest guys around in the industry! (Laughs) You just need to find time for fitness and make it a part of your life. But do all actors in the south film industry have fitness as part of their daily lives? I won’t comment much on Tamil actors as I don’t know them well, but in the Telugu film industry Nagarjuna and Venkatesh are very fit for their age. The newer lot of actors like Allu Arjun, Prabhas, Charan, Chaitanya or me are fit. Even in Hindi films, I can’t name an actor who’s not fit. Most of us are doing action films and you need to look the part. Gone are the days when you don’t look the part and still play it. Your debut Telugu film, Leader (2010), was a hit but your films post that in Hindi or Telugu haven’t fared as well. Do you think you’ve been successful? In three years, I have done seven films in three languages. I don’t think anyone can have a bigger success than that! In the first couple of years of acting, I always wanted to try different roles to see what is right and what I fit in well into. There are very few people who are built like me or look like me so they need to find and design things for me. It’s very difficult for me to play weak or the underdog. It’s an experimental journey that’s been going on and now comes the biggest experiment – Rajamouli’s Baahubali, a period war film, a genre that I like very much. You’re a south Indian Telugu actor who’s got a chance to work in Hindi films and continues to get work [in both industries], which isn’t an easy thing in this day and age. And I’m not typecast as a south Indian either. So what more can an actor ask for? I have no complaints. Are you a commercially bankable star? People are paying me reasonably well and they’re making a lot of money by doing films with me. (Laughs) If you take any actor in the first three years, I think I have done reasonably well for myself. I’m extremely happy with my career graph. Usually an actor would stabilize himself in one film industry before he works in others. Nobody gets a chance of a second film in Bollywood. I’d be stupid not to take the opportunity. My career has reasonably stable in Telugu; I have Rudhramadevi and Baahubali (Part 1 and 2). I start shooting for Parashuram’s family drama Chuttalabbayi in January 2015. Shooting period films over two years and then making a film like Baby — how does it feel? Baahubali is a physically taxing film being a period war film, so it was months of physical training, weapon training, the way one speaks, etc. Yes, it’s two very different mindspaces one gets into. There’s a bodily transformation (weight and build) and one’s behaviour and language also transforms. I didn’t realize the mindspace change till I started shooting for Baby. I have a 35-day schedule for Baby now and then I get back to Baahubali after a break. So there’s enough time to get in and out of the character and physical transformation. How’s it working with Akshay Kumar in Neeraj Pandey’s Baby? Akshay is professional, sharp and gets things done. It’s always fun to work with actors like Akshay and Anupam Kher. Being seniors, there’s so much you can learn from them. I can’t talk too much about the film right now. Any Tamil films on the horizon? I’d love to do Tamil films. There’ve been a lot of discussions over the years but nothing panned out. I was supposed to do Selvaraghavan’s Irandam Ulagam but I wasn’t happy with what was written. Baahubali (being shot in Telugu and Tamil) will be my first Tamil film technically. Acting now, what next? As an actor, I’d like to keep doing films in the three languages. Eventually I’d like to write and direct. We’ll cross the bridge once we get to it.