400 days of shooting for Rana Daggubati

Hyderabad: Rana Daggubati is one busy man these days thanks to the exhaustive shooting schedule of Rajamouli’s magnum opus Baahubali.

“The film is being completed at a blitzkrieg speed and it needs 400 days of shooting on location. It will take two to three years to complete and will be the biggest and greatest film to come out of our country. It is being made in three different languages, Tamil, Telugu and Hindi and will be dubbed in two other languages,” says the star.

“Surprisingly, for me the most difficult one is the Tamil version. We have to speak in  Tamil from that period unlike the colloquial language that we are used to speaking. It takes me quite some time to get the right pronunciation in Tamil. Being a period film I cannot go wrong,” adds Rana.

The actor, who loves the outdoors, says, “I am very adventurous at heart and love outdoor sports. I am here at Imagica (Adlab’s theme park) in Mumbai and it reminds me of my early adventurous days. I would love to go to the jungles and go on safaris. I cannot express the thrill I derived from these forests around the world and in India.”

Talking about his to-die-for physique, Rana says, “I guess I should be grateful to my father’s genes for my build. I do not stick to any dieting regime as I feel that it is not a long-term solution. My fitness regime varies from film to film but yes, I go the gym six days a week.”

Having grown up idolizing actor Sylvester Stallone, Rana says that his Bollywood dream heroes are Sanjay Dutt and Salman Khan. And though he has been having problems with the Tamil version of Baahubali, Rana says that language is never a barrier.

“As an actor, language makes no difference regardless of the industry. It is all about consistency, it’s the kind of film you are doing and catering to the audiences that matters the most. It is like a Telugu actor doing a small role in a Hindi flick and vice-versa.”

Talking about superstar Rajnikant making it big in South India despite being an outsider, Rana says, “No one can get the kind of consistency that Rajini sir got from wherever he went. Rarely are people bestowed with such blessings from the almighty. He has also consistently worked towards surprising and alluring audiences over the years.”

Rana regrets not living in Mumbai. “I have a house in Juhu but owing to my work in South, I cannot live here. I do agree that in Bollywood, if you are not stationed continuously in Mumbai, people tend to forget you. However, I have got a good reception in Bollywood and I will get going into the Bollywood horizon very soon.”
Ducking our query on marriage and dating, the actor concludes, “I am busy doing the current project, therefore I am not looking forward to marriage. Also, I am not dating anyone at the moment.”