I am single and ready to mingle,” exclaimed Tollywood star RaNa Daggubati, reacting to a question about his alleged linkup with sultry Bollywood siren Bipasha Basu.
RaNa, the grandson of legendary producer Rama Naidu, was in Chennai for Ugadi and spoke about his foray into B’Town with Rohan Sippy’s Dum Maaro Dum, his craze for Rajinikanth and the yearning to act in a Tamil flick.
But first things first. “It was Shriya earlier and now Bips! I really don’t want to waste time reacting to baseless rumours! Shriya has worked in my dad’s productions and I have known her for more than 10 years now! As for Bipasha, she was my co-star and I enjoyed every bit of our shooting. Please respect art and creativity. When you are out to promote a film, these absurd reports shift the focus from the agenda. It will not help bring the crowd to the theatres either,” he says. He quickly adds, “I have a long journey in cinema.”
In Dum Maaro Dum, RaNa plays Joaquim Fernandes, a Goa-based musician and deejay. “There is a classic term ‘Susegad’ they use in Goa, which means a chilled out person. That’s what my character is all about! DJ Joki is laidback and a recluse till one day his entire family is wiped out by the drug mafia.”
He did his homework before portraying a Goan guy. RaNa says that he stayed in Mumbai for a month before shooting commenced and worked on various looks with hundreds of costumes from local Goan shops. “I have never played a musical instrument in my life so I had to take guitar classes from music director Pritam’s assistant. Most of the people in Goa speak Konkani.
Since the film was shot in sync-sound system, I had to learn the correct diction. Thanks to a workshop and Sasha, a DJ I met in Goa and who helped me in many ways, I got it right.”
On sharing screen space with Abhishek and Prateik he says, “There are three parallel stories running in the film. All three of us meet at one point of time; it was a great mix of seniors and younger actors like Prateik and me. The three of us bonded so well that we felt that we were on a vacation.”
The moment you tell him that Rajinikanth’s next film is RaNa the Leader star becomes ecstatic!
“I was in Mumbai when I read the headline in a local newspaper — ‘Rajinikanth is Rana’! I was damn thrilled and couldn’t control my emotions. I called my mom and thanked her for naming me RaNa. I am crazy about Rajini sir and his films,” he candidly admits.
RaNa says that he is more a Chennaiite than a Hyderabadi. “I was born in Chennai and studied in Chettinad School. Even after we shifted to Hyderabad, I used to spend my summer hols here. Bunny, Ram Charan and I grew up in Chennai.”
He has a cherished dream to act in a Tamil movie and the day is not far off, he feels. “In fact, I wanted to make my debut in Tamil but the film with Selvaraghavan did not take off. I am constantly making efforts to act in a Tamil film, though I have become busy in Tollywood with Nenu Naa Rakshasi with Ileana and a new film Naa Ishtam with Genelia,” he signs off.
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