I believe that you become a better actor only when you work with people far better than you are.
— Rana Daggubati
My thatha's death was the biggest blow I've dealt with in all my life. I have never seen death in my family, especially not of someone who's so close to me... I might be this big guy from the outside, but I'm very sensitive when it comes to my family.
I have grown up reading Marvel Comics and Marvel movies with their intricately woven storylines. It is fascinating to see how Marvel has created characters and stories that resonate so well with audiences across the globe, making movies at a scale that one had never before imagined.
By logic, it's a handicap. If I shut one eye, I can't see from the other eye. But it is one of those things which I don't think too much about. One needs to have the strength to move forward.
I don't want to do the song-dance formula; there are many people doing it, right?
I find Katrina Kaif attractive and would like to work with her some day.
When I watch films, I skip songs. I don't like them.
Any skill requires training. I took the corporate approach to acting and wanted to develop the necessary skills.
I am becoming the 'war lord' actor, be it in 'Baahubali' or 'Ghazi' or 'Madai Thiranthu.' I am proud to be a part of these films.
Each character, be it the antagonist or the protagonist, brings with himself his own personality... and I have tried to stay true to each one of them; each is enjoyable in their own way!
Hyderabad can be harsh to a foodie like me. The haleems and the biryanis are in your face. It's hard to overcome temptations and harder not to binge.
A myth that operated for a year was that my broad structure secretly held a deadly body. I was so wary of my burgeoning tummy that I would conceal it by wearing very loose clothes.
It's always nice to have another filmmaker to reassure you that you are making a good quality film.
If you live the way others want you to, you are called a nice guy. If you live the way you want, you are called selfish.
I've been a part of cool films without even romancing.
In every film, you get a chance to travel down a new path.
For 'Dum Maro Dum,' I had a diction tutor, as I had to get rid of my Hyderabadi Hindi and learn Goan Hindi. It wasn't easy, because these two kinds of Hindi were mutually incompatible. I had to unlearn one kind of Hindi and then learn a new kind.
I've always been a big fan of Anjali Menon as a director and have watched most of her films, too.
I always believe an actor is as good as the content as he gets or chooses.
'Baahubali' team is not after numbers. If we would have been number guys, we would have never made a film with such a huge budget. We just wanted to make the biggest war film of this country, but what it has achieved is amazing.
I enjoy being myself on television, where I am not enacting a character.
I grew up understanding cinema from early on and was soon cinema-literate.
I loved 'A Wednesday'; it is one of my top favourite films of all time.
I want to do films in as many genres - action, fantasy, period, classic love stories - as I can. I don't want to pigeon-hole myself.
I love the characters in 'Wolf of Wall Street' and 'House of Cards.'
Before I became an actor, I was a producer and a visual effects supervisor. Our industry wasn't making the kind of films I was interested in.
I truly believe that cinema is a collaborative effort, and as long as I get to tell, and be part of, interesting stories and work with genuine people, I don't see any project as a 'risk.'
For evening workouts, I work out two body parts; a big muscle and a small, like, say, the chest and the triceps. I lift crazy weights and take no breaks while I'm at it.
For two years, I was without a movie down South, and 'Department' proved a disaster; people don't even remember the film.
It wasn't easy to shoot for 'Baahubali.' It was very painful and annoying.
You never know when you actually fall in love.
In 'The Beginning,' each one of us was introduced, but the audience didn't know our back stories and the drama. You wouldn't have known how deep Bhallaladeva's jealousy for Baahubali is.
Incidents of the past - a lost love, a missed opportunity - shape us and make us what we are.
When 'Dum Maro Dum' came my way, I took it up without thinking that I was crossing any boundary. It was a good film, and I wanted to do it.
I'm definitely open to doing a Malayalam film.
Genetically, I am built big and strong.
I am really happy with the appreciation 'Baahubali' is receiving. Its success proves that if you back the right content, it can travel across the country and the globe.
It was the reason why I became an actor - to tell new stories - and I stick to that, which is how I found 'Ghazi.'
I don't enjoy doing over-the-top action entertainers.
I have never understood why promotion is such a big thing in Hindi films.
'Leader' is a political drama. It's the story of a character who understands what the people want.
'Ghazi' has underwater stunts and was physically taxing. That added to my cardio routine.
Thanos is undoubtedly the most powerful entity and villain the world has ever seen - he is virtually indestructible. Imagine a villain so menacing that all the Avengers, Guardians of the Galaxy, and their allies have to come together in a hope to defeat this one guy; such characters come to you once in a lifetime!
I love to be in the entertainment space, and my aim is to create new content and entertain people, whether it's in movies or on TV.
As a child, I was into cricket and boxing in school.
I made a decent debut in Bollywood with 'Dum Maaro Dum.'
'Naa Ishtam' is my first commercial Telugu film. That was exciting.
We are moving into a phase where what was once alternative cinema is becoming mainstream. I like being in that space.
If I feel like too much of a star, I can head to Chennai and be a regular guy.
The pacing in Tamil and Telugu is very different from Malayalam cinema.
