ABP The Southern Rising Summit: Popular actor and entrepreneur Rana Daggubati graced the stage as a speaker at ABP Network's 'The Southern Rising Summit' in Chennai on Thursday, October 12. The topic of the discussion was 'So Many Cinemas: Celebrating India's Diversity', moderated by renowned author Chetan Bhagat.
Ramanaidu (Rana) Daggubati was born in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, to prominent Telugu film producer D. Suresh Babu. He comes from the renowned Daggubati–Akkineni family, with actors like Venkatesh and Naga Chaitanya being his paternal uncle and cousin, respectively. Rana made his acting debut with the Telugu film "Leader" in 2010, directed by Shekhar Kammula. His portrayal of an aspiring Chief Minister earned him critical acclaim and several awards.
In 2011, he ventured into Bollywood with the film "Dum Maaro Dum," where he received positive reviews for his performance. Rana gained immense popularity for his role as Bhallaladeva in Baahubali series, making him a well-known figure across India. Rana continued to appear in notable films such as "Ghazi" (2017), "Nene Raju Nene Mantri" (2017), "Bheemla Nayak" (2022), and "Virata Parvam" (2022).
Apart from acting, Rana has ventured into various businesses. He has established a business accelerator program for technology startups, an entertainment agency, and a comic book company.
During the discussion, the 'Bahubali' actor talked on a range of topics from Visual Effects (VFX) to Artificial Intelligence (AI) to his acting career and marital life.
On Becoming An Actor And Receiving Extraordinary Fame
Very few know that Rana Daggubati, who marks his place among the leading actors of today's time, began his career in the movies with visual effects but the real motivation behind it was his facination with films and the process of filmmaking.
Talking about it, Rana said, "The decision to become an actor because I couldn’t make the films that I wanted to. I wasn’t trained as a filmmaker, I knew I wasn't mature enough and I had to learn a lot. I did theatre in my younger days in school. So I quit my job, trained for that and went into the movies, this time as an actor."
Rana Daggubati also shed light on what being famous means to him, belonging to a family that has been in the showbiz industry for long.
"I have been part of the industry for long. Fame for me, is like a job, and we treat it like that. Everytime you go out, you have got to do your job and be famous but once you return, you get back to being who you are."
The 'Rana Naidu' actor gave an honest reply on being asked about the best and not so savoury part of being famous. Replying to the question, he said, "There is nothing that is not superb about being famous."
On Visual Effects And The Ability Of Filmmakers To Explore More With It
Rana Daggubati used to do visual effects in filmmaking back in 2004 and 2005. The actor believes that in today's time, all boundaries have been pushed in India in all directions. He also mentioned that there has been a massive change in the entire process over the years and gave the best example by revealing that all his visual effects equipments are now in a museum in Vizag and Rana himself feels lucky to have not landed up there and proceeded with his career as an actor.
The actor also emphasised how visual effects aids the filmmaker to dream and be their creative self.
On Artificial Intelligence
"Artificial intelligence is going to affect everyone and disrupt everyone's lives. It's what the internet did years ago. The internet was very quickly applicable to us and this is the next turn. Any new change will be a little difficult to adjust in the beginning till we start understanding it well enough. Putting it into the entertainment industry, it will do the same. The entertainment industry picks up any tech very quickly because it's constant creativity, you are trying to create what you imagine."
Talking about AI replacing humans, Rana said, "It will be the humans that will be understanding how AI will be running the world and not vice versa, at least in our lifetimes."
On Cinema
The 'Bahubali' actor talked about "how cinema has stayed the exact same way it was long time ago." He further elaborated the process of filmmaking and said, "A hundred years ago, cinema was shot on film and projected back on film. Now, its all digital. It has been pretty much the same for many many years. Cinema has been the same for a long time but cinema across the country is very different. Small cinemas work big cinemas are not working. Cinema continues to work at every single place, it's just the means to monetise it, to advertise it, that changes. Today it is more and more immersive. There's social cinema, then there's interactive cinema which is already there on ott."
The actor also mentioned how the choices of cinema become more personalised on devices and so on.
Throughout the day, 'The Southern Rising' Summit is set to witness personalities from various fields including politics and entertainment. The speakers are expected to share their views on the idea of a 'New India' and the upcoming Lok Sabha election 2024.
Prominent politicians including IT Minister P Thiaga Rajan, Minister for Youth Welfare and Sports Development Udhayanidhi Stalin, Telangana MLC Kavitha and Tamil Nadu BJP chief Annamalai are lined up to set the stage on fire. Prominent actors from the cine industry, including Rana Daggubati, Kushboo Sundar, Revathy, and Suhasini Maniratnam, will grace the stage.