Baahubali Star Rana Daggubati Had His Heart Crushed and Here's Why

Chennai: He might look pretty menacing as Bhallaladeva of Baahubali, but actor Rana Daggubati's real-life story will have you grinning ear-to-ear. Let's hear it from the 'Leader.'

Growing up:
Rana: We literally grew up in the world of movies. In fact, my most precious memory with my grandfather (producer) Ramanaidu was watching film rushes with him. Every week, we would watch a film or two as a family.
 
Of friends and cousins:
Rana: My cousin (actor) Naga Chaitanya was my first best friend. He was this very sweet kid that you can't help but love. Our families went on vacations together, so we spent a lot of our childhood days together. Even last week when we went to Vizag, our families had put us in a single room, they didn't realise the boys have grown now.
 
Ram Charan and the menace:
Rana: Ram Charan and I were classmates and our parents never really wanted us to be together. We used to be such naughty little devils that it drove our families mad.

The Dream Girl:
Rana: I think I was in seventh grade when a new girl joined my school. She was my senior and every boy in the school wanted to talk to her. I had spoken two-three words to her. Four years back, I got a friend suggestion from Facebook, it was her and of course, I immediately sent a request and she accepted! But then, she chatted and asked if we knew each other. She had accepted my FB request because we had lot of mutual friends from high school but she simply couldn't place me. There, she didn't even know I existed.

Making movies:
Rana: I used to write a lot when I was young and recently, I was reading one of my earlier entries on what I wanted to do in life. Basically, I had written that I wanted to experiment on everything in movies - be it production, visual effects or acting. To this day, that's what I have been doing. Learning from the mistakes I have made and finding my strengths. And now, with Baahubali, it is truly like a child's dream come true. It was physically taxing (I had to bulk up for the warrior look and take up 6 months of martial arts training) but we enjoyed the process and to be a part of something that has never been done before was such an learning experience.

On cliched heroine roles:
Rana: When you say that women roles are cliched in Telugu cinema, I would suggest you to watch Baahubali. The three women - Ramya Krishnan, Tamannaah Bhatia and Anushka Shetty - have aced their roles and literally carry the film on their shoulders.

Personally, I appreciate the way heroines like Trisha, Anushka or Nayan Tara have held their ground and the other night when we were promoting the movie, we could see the way people were cheering for Anuskha. She is a hero in every right. The audience has put them up in high pedestals and deservingly so.

The Bangalore Days Remake:
Rana: I was so touched when I watched the film Bangalore Days, I could so relate to it with the cousin getting married and then how you accept the new person into your life and family. It was truly a slice of life movie and I jumped in when I got a chance to star in the movie and the character I play (Fahad's role in the original) happens to be my favourite.