Not Your Regular Hero

Rana Daggubati is a colossus who straddles many aspects of cinema.

- K. Sunil Thomas

 

Rana Daggubati is a colossus. Literally and figuratively. In real life as much as on the silver screen. He is everywhere in Hyderabad – peppered on ad displays across the city. And you can also sense his star power when a hushed-up buzz spreads across the hotel lobby even seconds before he walks in. In Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, as well as in many parts of south India where Telugu films garner eyeballs, this is one star who is loved and admired.

The rest of India saw this Telugu matinee idol in all his larger-than-life glory last year in the biggest blockbuster of all time, Baahubali, where he played the main antagonist Bhallaldev in both parts of the magnum opus. The phenomenon got him the kind of star power his earlier outings into Bollywood could not earn for him.

In real life, too, ‘Rana’ (his original name is Ramanaidu Daggubati) is awe-inducing:lanky at 6’2” and muscles rippling down his torso as if sculpted by an artist’s chisel. Even when he is right now probably half his buffed up Baahubali-size, thanks to a drastic diet he is following to fit into his next role in the film Haathi Mere Saathi. “It’s the story of a man who lives in the jungle for about 25 years with elephants. So, obviously, I need to look like somebody who doesn’t get food like Bhallaldev does, “ he laughs, quipping, “But that’s the fun part of (this) job.”