‘I enjoy playing roles that have complexities’
Rana describes himself as “not a result-oriented guy, but someone who loves and enjoys the process.” He’s done a wide variety of roles so far and has carved a niche for himself in the film industry
RANA TURNED SINGER FOR THE FIRST TIME IN THE
FILM VIRATA PARVAM— HE
SANG A REVOLUTIONARY NUMBER. “IT WAS
ACTUALLY THE DIRECTOR’S IDEA; I TOO WANTED TO
GIVE IT A SHOT. BUT IT WAS NOT A
REGULAR SONG, THIS NUMBER IS VERY POETIC WITH
HIGH LYRICAL VALUE. SO I TRIED TO CARRY THE
FILM’S SPIRIT THROUGH THIS SONG,” HE SAYS.
Rana Daggubati is the archetypal new-age actor. Someone who isn’t satisfied by being a protagonist, he wants more from the characters he plays. Hence, he searches for roles with meaning.
His upcoming film, Virat Parvam, features the actor in the role of Raavana, a naxal. “He is also a poet in the film,” says Rana, who explains that when director Venu Udugula narrated the script he was fascinated with the character design.
“I read a three-page synopsis of the script. I felt extremely heavy and carried out the emotion for three days. This emotion stayed with me for such a long time. Then I decided to go ahead with the role,” says the actor.
According to him, Raavana is one of the most physically and mentally challenging characters. In fact, for his part, he even underwent combat and weapon training. There was a lot of detailing that went into playing the part. “I had to understand the nuances and intensity of the character, imbibe the spirit, the way he speaks and body language. Since the character and film is set in the 1990s, I have to further look for references during that time to get the part right,” says Rana. He describes the role as an ‘extremely intense’ one. He says that this is one of the roles that is surrounded by emotion and strength.
Rana turned singer for the first time in this film. He apparently sang a revolutionary number. “It was actually the director’s idea; I too wanted to give it a shot. But it was not a regular song, this number is very poetic with high lyrical value. So I tried to carry
the film’s spirit through this song,” Rana says, stating that he was very excited with this new attempt.
ROLES WITH SHADES OF GREY
Like in Virat Parvam, in his earlier
film Bheemla Nayak, a multi-starrer along with Pawan Kalyan, Rana’s role had shades of grey. The film became a blockbuster and Rana’s role got rave reviews. Ask him if he’s open to more such films, he replies, “Why not? I
always enjoy playing roles that have some complexities because of their layered nature. I love storytelling and wanted to be part of a universe that has these characters,” says the actor.
In his 12 year journey, the Ghazi actor says that he had learned how to play different characters with conviction.
“I feel that all characters I have done so far have been in complete contrast to each other; perhaps I believe that’s where I have started to build my image and own the audiences confidence that I always present myself in a different way,” explains the actor.
THE STORY IS MOST IMPORTANT
Rana reinstates that he never watches a film for the protagonist, but because the story is good and it has several characters. “Since that’s how I watched films, that’s how I act too — I look at a film in totality,” says the actor.
THE OTT BUG
Like everyone, Rana too was bitten by the OTT bug during the pandemic. He will be seen in Rana Naidu, a web show, also starring his uncle Venkatesh, an adaptation of the crime drama, Ray Donovan.
“When I was offered the project, I looked at it as a great opportunity to learn how characters operate and their span on television shows, unlike on the silver screen,” he says.
While Pan-India may currently be the buzz word, Rana’s second film was in Hindi, Dum Maro Dum. The actor states that when you don’t have a problem seeing a film in another language, naturally you don’t have a problem in acting too. “I like to explore new things; I am like that,” he replies.
While he got to play ‘be-good do-good’ characters, Rana also played roles that are grey. “I am blessed that my conscious effort to show variations in every role I do has been fulfilled,” he says.
He describes himself “not a result-oriented guy, but someone who loves and enjoys the process.”