Debutant actor Rana Daggubati on the highs and lows
His first bow in Tollywood films is touted as one of the most talked about debuts this year. Rana Daggubati insists that he’s a “natural actor” who didn’t accidentally join films. In fact, the strapping six-footer says that he spent “two years training to be an actor. After dabbling with varied business interests, I felt I should try my hand at acting.”
Son of film producer D Suresh Babu, Rana is a third generation actor. Is it fair to have film families rule Tollyland? Does it mean that actors without a starry lineage find it tough to get a toe-hold in the film industry? Rana says, “talent is the key for an actor to make it big. There is space for everybody here, not just star sons,” and goes on to list the disadvantages of a filmi background. He says, “Star kids can’t afford to fail. Other newcomers are forgiven for their small mistakes. In our case, besides being compared to one’s parent, we also have to live up to the family name. Our trivial mistakes are blown out of proportion. So we have to work harder than everyone else. Of course the pluses of coming from a film family are huge too.”
Rana has close personal ties with most young actors of TTown. Is that an advantage? “We’ve all grown up together and know each other since childhood. So our bond is strong. However, we are also professionals when it comes to films, but there’s no unpleasantness or nasty rivalry among us,” he puts in emphatically.
