He may be a south Indian actor, but when Rana Daggubatti’s career decisions are compared to those of ‘superstars’ like Vikram and Surya, he makes it a point to say, “I can’t be mentioned in the same breath as them. I’ve been watching their films since I was a child. They’re huge stars. Comparing me to them makes no sense.”
The actor recently made, what he calls, his “second acting debut for all practical purposes” with Rohan Sippy’s Dum Maaro Dum. And though rumour has it that the film bombed at the box-office, he’s already secured his next project, Ram Gopal Varma’s Department.
Rana, who replaced his DMD co-star Abhishek Bachchan, in the film, insists that there are no hard feelings. “We spoke before I signed the film and Abhishek didn’t have the dates. I have immense respect for him, so there’s no question of a conflict,” he says, adding that he’ll start shooting for the multi-starrer by July.
Currently, home in Hyderabad, filming for the Telugu project, Naa Ishtam, with Genelia D’Souza, the Chennai-born actor is also eyeing Tamil cinema. “I’m looking forward to doing a Tamil film. Each industry offers various boundaries; I find that exciting.”
For now, he’s content with his career graph that comprises three flicks. “I’ve played a politician, a musician and an assassin. Now, I’m doing a romantic comedy says Rana, adding, “I look like a different actor in each film. I want to experiment with as many genres, and Bollywood sometimes allows you to do certain roles that you can’t do elsewhere.”
