Rana Daggubati watched a 7.30 a.m. show of Bangalore Days , starring his friend Dulquer Salmaan, on the second day of its release in Hyderabad. He emerged from the theatre determined to pick up the remake rights. “I learnt it had been bought by PVP, and when they approached me for Bangalore Naatkal , I jumped at the offer,” says Rana.
The actor, who received much appreciation for his roles in the sweeping sagas Baahubali and Rudhramadevi , and Mana Madras Kosam, his social service initiative following the Chennai floods, reprises the role of Fahadh Faasil in the remake, which releases on February 5. “I liked Fahad’s role immensely. Somehow, it comes a full circle — you understand the journey of that character.”
It helped that the remake was being directed by Bommarillu Bhaskar, known for his “sensible, sensitive cinema”.
“What Bhaskar’s done is special. He’s retained the soul, but made everything else more vibrant. There’s more energy. The pacing in Tamil and Telugu is very different from Malayalam cinema. When we {the family-run Suresh Productions} remade Drishyam in Telugu, we cut about 25 minutes from the original,” he says.
A conversation with Rana effortlessly flits between topics as varied as production, creativity, special effects and more, but all within the ambit of films. That’s because he’s dabbled in each of those, having been raised in a family that celebrates cinema.
Rana Daggubati and Sri Divya in a still from Bangalore Naatkal.
With Bangalore Naatkal , Rana makes a return to Tamil, after his debut with a fleeting cameo in Arrambam .
The film also gave him the opportunity to “get real”. “It’s difficult to shake off the after-effects of Baahubali . The sets of Bangalore Naatkal reminded me that I am not a king, I have a love story, I lose my love... it was a very real world that I inhabited,” he smiles. Rana says he loves the essence of his role. “Incidents of the past — a lost love, a missed opportunity — shape us and make us what we are. I like how the film makes this point.”
Bhaskar also tweaked the script to make the difference in the two phases of Rana’s character very distinct. “You’ll feel that more when you see the flashy biker become withdrawn. Bhaskar said I had to essay two diverse personalities of one person. The way I move, the way I speak... everything’s different.”
The film also sees him 26 kg lighter, a far cry from what Hollywood action director Lee Whittaker called “a monument of a man” in Baahubali . Rana laughs, “Lee won’t recognise me now.” But, he’ll start bulking up again from March, so that he can be the beastly Bhallala Deva again for Baahubali: The Conclusion .
“Things like this keep me going. In every film, you get a chance to travel down a new path. And, whatever the role, the intensity is the same, he says. “Be it the physicality in Baahubali, or my role in Ghazi {based on the sinking of Pakistani submarine PNS Ghaz i}, I like to understand the mind of my character, and then go with the flow.”
This is also why Rana does not make much of the fact that he’s active in three languages now — Telugu, Hindi, and now, Tamil. “A part of my childhood was spent in Tamil Nadu. I grew up learning Tamil, Telugu, Hindi and English. Working in these industries gives me the opportunity to be a part of cinema with varied thought processes and grammar. That’s very exciting.”
There’s another advantage, says Rana, in all seriousness. “In each of them, you have different levels of popularity. It helps you stay grounded. If I feel like too much of a star, I can head to Chennai and be a regular guy,” he laughs.
Ghazi is being made in Hindi, Telugu and Tamil (with close-ups to aid better lip-sync during dubbing), and Rana says he believes certain stories can be told only if there is a larger market across boundaries. “Ultimately, stories travel, if backed by content. Baahubali proved that; it worked well in Hindi, Tamil and Malayalam, though it was made with primarily Telugu actors.”
Shooting for Ghazi also made Rana realise that there are so many stories in our country, waiting to be told. “We just have to look for them. I’ve been to Visakhapatnam {off the coast of which the PNS Ghazi sank} often, but never really knew the history of the submarine. Most of us are stuck in genres and formulae. Ultimately, we are storytellers and must find these tales. We can access the information if we wish to, so we must.”
Rana, who admits cinema is the only thing he knows, says he supports a culture where movies are made with different budgets, for different audiences, so that there is variety. “Many filmmakers are taking a leap of faith to create something novel, to stick to the grammar that the story demands...”
The actor also plans to do more Tamil films. “There are discussions, and films with Bala and Ameer are in the pipeline. Tamil offers me the chance to work with some distinct directors,” he says.
Rana is also excited about working soon in Leader 2 , the sequel to his acting debut in 2010. “ Leader moulded me into what I am today. I’m very excited. The character has grown, director Sekhar Kammula and I have grown, and I think the timing’s right.”
Sounds logical, but Rana’s decisions are not just based on that. There’s someone else influencing his moves — his beloved grandfather, the late D. Rama Naidu. “All my knowledge about cinema and life came from him. He liked my pushing the envelope and doing new things constantly. You’ll see his ideology in every decision I make.”
