Rana Daggubati on Pan-India Cinema, Onscreen Hatred for Venkatesh & Changing Audience Preferences

South Indian actor Rana Daggubati, who gained immense popularity for playing the grey-shaded role of Bhallaladeva in Prabhas' blockbuster Baahubali, was recently seen in the web series Rana Naidu 2. His performance in the show was widely appreciated by viewers. A few days ago, he gave a candid interview to the media where he spoke openly about Rana Naidu 2, choosing characters, the wave of pan-India films, working with three directors, and the growing disconnect between audiences and theatres. Here’s what he shared…

• Every project teaches you something new. What did this season make you discover about yourself?

Rana Naidu is perhaps one of the most traumatic characters I’ve ever played. A man who was abused in childhood, had an absent father, lost his mother and sister — and yet continues to live with a strong face. This character carries depth and pain. It has many layers that you begin to understand only while living through them, and you learn a lot from that.

• You’ve always made bold choices — debuting with a political film like Leader, playing a powerful supporting role in Baby, or a grey character in Baahubali. What do you consider when choosing a role — the script, the character, or the challenge?

Since I began acting, my thinking has always been simple — if I, as an audience member, would want to watch a film that hasn’t been seen before, then I’d want to play characters that haven’t been done before. When Leader came out, it had no songs or fight scenes — people found that odd at the time. No one had tried it, yet it became mainstream. Throughout my career, I’ve done many films that others weren’t willing to do. I was advised not to do them, but I did — and they were very successful. That’s the beauty of this profession — as actors, we get to live someone else’s life, and the power to choose that life is ours. I always prefer to live interesting lives on screen.

• There’s been much debate lately about glamorizing anti-heroes on screen. Your character in Rana Naidu is also an anti-hero. How do you see this discussion? Do you think audiences’ perception of grey characters is changing?

We try to portray what happens in real life — what’s going on in society — in an engaging way. The definitions of good, bad, right, and wrong vary for each person based on their background. What seems wrong to one person may be right to another — because it’s not their story. That’s the beauty of cinema — you get to see different lives. Rana Naidu may do questionable things, but he does it for his family — because he never had one growing up. He lost his mother and his father never cared for him. So for him, family is the only thing worth going to any extent for.

• You’re very close to Venkatesh sir in real life, but in the series, you play someone who hates his own uncle. Was it difficult to balance the professional and personal bond?

Honestly, I was more excited than nervous — because I was working with my uncle for the first time. Usually, when family members work together, they end up playing predictable roles — like a father saving his son or vice versa. But in this show, even though our characters are father and son, the equation is very different.

• How was it working with three directors who had different styles? Did it impact you as an actor?

Usually, an actor is guided by one director — here, I had three. Sometimes Karan Anshuman guided me in the beginning, then on set I’d get feedback from Suparn Verma or Abhay Chopra. Since this isn’t a “hero’s” story but rather a family drama with its own conflicts, I had to be fully tuned in. After each shot, I would look toward the monitor and gauge the director’s body language to see if they were satisfied. Not every day is perfect — and we constantly reminded each other of that. But that’s what true teamwork is.

• Since Baahubali, there’s been a strong wave of pan-India films from the South. How do you see this trend? Is it a positive shift for Indian cinema?

It’s a great thing. Now, we are finally talking about Indian cinema as one — some Telugu films are doing well here, some Hindi films are working there. We are just a few steps away from truly becoming one industry. Until now, we didn’t have anything like a unified Indian entertainment industry. Even the biggest Kannada filmmakers aren’t widely known in other regions. There are industries like Assamese or Odia that have large linguistic audiences but tiny film industries. They too need to be uplifted.

• These days, bringing audiences back to theatres is a big challenge. In your view, why is this happening, and where is improvement most needed — in content, marketing, or the theatre experience itself?

I think everyone in our industry is overly accountable to the media. Look at the chemical industry — prices there have shot up, but no one holds them accountable like they do us. When we talk too much about a problem, it starts to look bigger than it is. Yes, theatrical footfalls have dropped, but for the first time, we’re also seeing films cross ₹1000 crore — something we’d never imagined. Not one, but five or six films have crossed that mark. There is a much larger audience for films now — but they want very different content, and that’s a skill we need to develop.
In the West, if someone wants to be a production executive, they have to study for 3–4 years. Here, we don’t even have one unified industry — we have 10–12 different ones across states, each with its own needs and challenges. These need to be resolved within the industry itself.

Rana Daggubati’s Rana Naidu 2 is now streaming on Netflix. The show is directed by Karan Anshuman, Abhay Chopra, and Suparn Verma, and features Dino Morea, Abhishek Banerjee, Arjun Rampal, and Kriti Kharbanda in key roles.

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