“Whether it is a relationship with family members, girlfriends, friends, or co-workers – every relationship is important. Even a casual acquaintance means something to me.”
― Rana Daggubati
“Being a person of the armed forces is not easy. Performing it is also not easy. There is a sense of discipline and body language that you need to have throughout.”
― Rana Daggubati
“I loved ‘A Wednesday’; it is one of my top favourite films of all time.”
― Rana Daggubati
“My family has always believed that anybody can do anything if you are trained for it. So I trained with Barry John’s in Mumbai, did marital arts, and then went to stunt school in the U.S.”
― Rana Daggubati
“I enjoy being myself on television, where I am not enacting a character.”
― Rana Daggubati
“Incidents of the past – a lost love, a missed opportunity – shape us and make us what we are.”
― Rana Daggubati
“For evening workouts, I work out two body parts; a big muscle and a small, like, say, the chest and the triceps. I lift crazy weights and take no breaks while I’m at it.”
― Rana Daggubati
“Rumours die out faster than they are born, and I’m prepared for them.”
― Rana Daggubati
“I have never understood why promotion is such a big thing in Hindi films.”
― Rana Daggubati
“’Ghazi’ has underwater stunts and was physically taxing. That added to my cardio routine.”
― Rana Daggubati
“I believe that the mistakes you make in the past are learning experiences and make you grow as a human.”
― Rana Daggubati
“In ‘The Beginning,’ each one of us was introduced, but the audience didn’t know our back stories and the drama. You wouldn’t have known how deep Bhallaladeva’s jealousy for Baahubali is.”
― Rana Daggubati
“If you live the way others want you to, you are called a nice guy. If you live the way you want, you are called selfish.”
― Rana Daggubati
“Each character, be it the antagonist or the protagonist, brings with himself his own personality… and I have tried to stay true to each one of them; each is enjoyable in their own way!”
― Rana Daggubati
“Thanos is undoubtedly the most powerful entity and villain the world has ever seen – he is virtually indestructible. Imagine a villain so menacing that all the Avengers, Guardians of the Galaxy, and their allies have to come together in a hope to defeat this one guy; such characters come to you once in a lifetime!”
― Rana Daggubati
“Genetically, I am built big and strong.”
― Rana Daggubati
“I always believe an actor is as good as the content as he gets or chooses.”
― Rana Daggubati
“My thatha’s death was the biggest blow I’ve dealt with in all my life. I have never seen death in my family, especially not of someone who’s so close to me… I might be this big guy from the outside, but I’m very sensitive when it comes to my family.”
― Rana Daggubati
“Should I tell you one thing, I am blind from my right eye. I see only from my left eye. The one you see is someone else’s eye which was donated to me after his death. If I close my left eye, I can see no one.”
― Rana Daggubati
“Most of the things in your life are not in your control – the family you are born into, the parents, and the siblings you have. It is only friendship and love that you create for yourself in this lifetime.”
― Rana Daggubati
“It’s awesome that we can make more and more movies that are crossing boundaries.”
― Rana Daggubati
“We see many posters and standees at cinema halls, and some catch attention. But these posters are soon forgotten. Taking a picture with the actors, enabled by AR, helps record a memory.”
― Rana Daggubati
“Over time, I decided to take up only those stories I love.”
― Rana Daggubati
“I didn’t set out to be a regular hero.”
― Rana Daggubati
“Give me something new, and I’ll do it with all my heart.”
― Rana Daggubati
“Not all stories are meant for the big screen.”
― Rana Daggubati
“Social media is just a platform. What some people decide to do with it results in something good or bad.”
― Rana Daggubati
“Every story has a place where it deserves to be told.”
― Rana Daggubati
“While we were shooting ‘Baahubali,’ I had a knee injury, and a few months later, Prabhas injured his shoulder. Those two injuries meant a break of around five months from the schedule. So around that time, I was doing absolutely nothing, and Neeraj Pandey called me with ‘Baby.’”
― Rana Daggubati
“I want to do films that are genre-based and character-based.”
― Rana Daggubati
“I want to be part of movies which set benchmarks for a new kind of cinema.”
― Rana Daggubati
“Getting out of a character is emotionally taxing. You get used to being a person on camera, and when you move on, the character remains with you for a long time.”
― Rana Daggubati
“’Baahubali’ has done to Indian cinema what ‘Star Wars’ has done to America.”
― Rana Daggubati
“’Baahubali’ was really the film that broke most barriers of what regional cinema can do nationally.”
― Rana Daggubati
“I have grown up watching franchise-based movies like ‘Star Wars’ and read ‘Amar Chitra Katha’ and had aspired to do cinema like that.”
― Rana Daggubati
“I started doing visual effects for many years, and after that, I became an actor.”
― Rana Daggubati
“Cinema plays an important role in uniting the entire nation as a single unit.”
― Rana Daggubati
“I have been in the industry for about 15 years, and every day has been a learning experience, thanks to changing trends and technology.”
― Rana Daggubati
“If it was a risk, I wouldn’t have done ‘Baahubali.’”
― Rana Daggubati
“If you want to tell a new story, it is a risk. But then you have to do it in the best financial way as possible.”
― Rana Daggubati
“Most of my films have been very character driven.”
― Rana Daggubati
“When I was doing ‘Baahubali 2,’ the story was being discussed with many people. The story evolved over 9-10 months in that way.”
― Rana Daggubati
“My father is someone who asks doubts, thereby triggering new thoughts.”
― Rana Daggubati
“Had I not done ‘Baahubali,’ perhaps ‘Ghazi’ wouldn’t have happened.”
― Rana Daggubati
“There is no pressure from my family to get married.”
― Rana Daggubati
“My first film, ‘Leader,’ created a lot of political drama. Its release was pushed back twice.”
― Rana Daggubati
“When a director from Hindi cinema is looking for an actor from another language, it will be only because he feels the character justifies this and that can only be for a well-written character.”
― Rana Daggubati
“My only plan is to be versatile. That’s how I started, and that’s how I will continue.”
― Rana Daggubati
“Trust me: I eat a lot. I am a big guy.”
― Rana Daggubati
“The good thing about Hyderabad is the variety of cuisine available. From Nizami cuisine to Andhra food to Telengana delicacies, you are spoilt for choice.”
― Rana Daggubati
“It’s only when I have to do some bare body shots that I cut down on fat.”
― Rana Daggubati
“Hindi film industry makes film for the rest of the world. Tamil films are watched by Malay people. When a film is not bound by a language, why should an actor be?”
― Rana Daggubati
“I don’t understand why they keep forks and spoons on the table while serving biryani. You are supposed to eat it with your hand, and I prefer it that way.”
― Rana Daggubati
“Food is my big connect to Old City, and I discovered the culture and history of the city by exploring food joints.”
― Rana Daggubati
“I have grown fond of the food which is made in Barkas, and I try to go there at least once a week. Some of the food joints don’t even have a proper name, but it’s so different compared to rest of the places in Hyderabad.”
― Rana Daggubati
“My grandfather D. Ramanaidu has been in the film business for over 50 years, so I grew up in films.”
― Rana Daggubati
“I try and strike a balance between being sensible and sensitive.”
― Rana Daggubati
“I don’t stress too much on things, be it failure or success.”
― Rana Daggubati
“What other people think of me is their problem – not mine.”
― Rana Daggubati
“Abhimanyu Singh is a great guy to work with. He’s very hard working.”
― Rana Daggubati
“Mumaith Khan has unbelievable energy. She is a powerhouse performer.”
― Rana Daggubati
“Language has never been a barrier for me. I grew up learning Telugu, Hindi, and Tamil.”
― Rana Daggubati
“I want to do films in different languages because I want to tell stories in different genres.”
― Rana Daggubati
“When ‘Dum Maro Dum’ came my way, I took it up without thinking that I was crossing any boundary. It was a good film, and I wanted to do it.”
― Rana Daggubati
“For ‘Dum Maro Dum,’ I had a diction tutor, as I had to get rid of my Hyderabadi Hindi and learn Goan Hindi. It wasn’t easy, because these two kinds of Hindi were mutually incompatible. I had to unlearn one kind of Hindi and then learn a new kind.”
― Rana Daggubati
“The pacing in Tamil and Telugu is very different from Malayalam cinema.”
― Rana Daggubati
“In every film, you get a chance to travel down a new path.”
― Rana Daggubati
“If I feel like too much of a star, I can head to Chennai and be a regular guy.”
― Rana Daggubati
“I’ve been a part of cool films without even romancing.”
― Rana Daggubati
“We are moving into a phase where what was once alternative cinema is becoming mainstream. I like being in that space.”
― Rana Daggubati
“You never know when you actually fall in love.”
― Rana Daggubati
“’Naa Ishtam’ is my first commercial Telugu film. That was exciting.”
― Rana Daggubati
“It wasn’t easy to shoot for ‘Baahubali.’ It was very painful and annoying.”
― Rana Daggubati
“It’s always nice to have another filmmaker to reassure you that you are making a good quality film.”
― Rana Daggubati
“I made a decent debut in Bollywood with ‘Dum Maaro Dum.’”
― Rana Daggubati
“For two years, I was without a movie down South, and ‘Department’ proved a disaster; people don’t even remember the film.”
― Rana Daggubati
“A myth that operated for a year was that my broad structure secretly held a deadly body. I was so wary of my burgeoning tummy that I would conceal it by wearing very loose clothes.”
― Rana Daggubati
“As a child, I was into cricket and boxing in school.”
― Rana Daggubati
“Hyderabad can be harsh to a foodie like me. The haleems and the biryanis are in your face. It’s hard to overcome temptations and harder not to binge.”
― Rana Daggubati
“I love to be in the entertainment space, and my aim is to create new content and entertain people, whether it’s in movies or on TV.”
― Rana Daggubati
“I truly believe that cinema is a collaborative effort, and as long as I get to tell, and be part of, interesting stories and work with genuine people, I don’t see any project as a ‘risk.’”
― Rana Daggubati
“Before I became an actor, I was a producer and a visual effects supervisor. Our industry wasn’t making the kind of films I was interested in.”
― Rana Daggubati
“I am becoming the ‘war lord’ actor, be it in ‘Baahubali’ or ‘Ghazi’ or ‘Madai Thiranthu.’ I am proud to be a part of these films.”
― Rana Daggubati
“I love the characters in ‘Wolf of Wall Street’ and ‘House of Cards.’”
― Rana Daggubati
“Any skill requires training. I took the corporate approach to acting and wanted to develop the necessary skills.”
― Rana Daggubati
“’Leader’ is a political drama. It’s the story of a character who understands what the people want.”
― Rana Daggubati
“I want to do films in as many genres – action, fantasy, period, classic love stories – as I can. I don’t want to pigeon-hole myself.”
― Rana Daggubati
“When I watch films, I skip songs. I don’t like them.”
― Rana Daggubati
“I find Katrina Kaif attractive and would like to work with her some day.”
― Rana Daggubati
“I don’t enjoy doing over-the-top action entertainers.”
― Rana Daggubati
“I grew up understanding cinema from early on and was soon cinema-literate.”
― Rana Daggubati
“I don’t want to do the song-dance formula; there are many people doing it, right?”
― Rana Daggubati
“It was the reason why I became an actor – to tell new stories – and I stick to that, which is how I found ‘Ghazi.’”
― Rana Daggubati
“By logic, it’s a handicap. If I shut one eye, I can’t see from the other eye. But it is one of those things which I don’t think too much about. One needs to have the strength to move forward.”
― Rana Daggubati
“I am really happy with the appreciation ‘Baahubali’ is receiving. Its success proves that if you back the right content, it can travel across the country and the globe.”
― Rana Daggubati
“’Baahubali’ team is not after numbers. If we would have been number guys, we would have never made a film with such a huge budget. We just wanted to make the biggest war film of this country, but what it has achieved is amazing.”
― Rana Daggubati
“I have grown up reading Marvel Comics and Marvel movies with their intricately woven storylines. It is fascinating to see how Marvel has created characters and stories that resonate so well with audiences across the globe, making movies at a scale that one had never before imagined.”
― Rana Daggubati
“I’m definitely open to doing a Malayalam film.”
― Rana Daggubati
“I’ve always been a big fan of Anjali Menon as a director and have watched most of her films, too.”
― Rana Daggubati
“I believe that you become a better actor only when you work with people far better than you are.”
― Rana Daggubati
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