Rana says na na to marriage for now, says he’s single
Actor Rana Daggubati is enjoying probably the best phase in his almost a decade-long career. After playing Bhallaladeva in the Baahubali franchise, he’s trying his hand at comedy now, with Housefull 4. Additionally, he also recently went to the Tokyo Comic Con, since Baahubali has become popular there. He has had an eventful year, but as he turns 34, today, he has “no special plans” for the day. Excerpts:
How was the experience at the Tokyo Comic Con?
It was amazing to see the love that Baahubali has garnered there. The beauty was that we were watching the film not in Japanese but in Telugu! Also, there was cosplay, where people dressed up as characters from Baahubali.
What was SS Rajamouli’s (director of Baahubali) reaction to the film’s global craze?
He went to Japan a few months before I did, for a screening of Baahubali and then they wanted me to come for Comic Con. I am also a comic freak. The possibility of an Indian franchise being there was a different experience.
With films such as Baahubali and 2.0 becoming big, do you feel that regional cinema is finally getting its due?
What is regional cinema? We are spectacle cinema, that’s the difference. Spectacle goes beyond language and barriers. If we go to the heartland of India, people know who Rambo is. They like his character because they go beyond all these things. That’s the beauty of characters. I grew up watching Star Wars, which didn’t show anything about our culture. And that’s the power of that story.
With many celebrities taking the plunge, do we see you getting married in the near future, too? Getting married? You need a girlfriend na for all this?
(laughs) I am single, so nothing yet. You have also replaced Nana Patekar in Housefull 4. Were you apprehensive about doing a role that was originally written for a much older man (Nana)?
I’ve never done comedy. The first time I heard Housefull 4’s story, it was so funny and mad! I just said ‘I have to be a part of this’. I knew some people beforehand like Akshay (Kumar) sir and the DoP of the film, and the role I am doing is slightly different in the way it’s pitched now.