When you first meet Rana Daggubati, you have to take a beat to compute his dimensions. At 6’3”, upholstered entirely in muscle, and with shoulders you need to pan across, he has your attention without as much as a word. That’s when you notice his second, and perhaps much more arresting quality: He doesn’t impress upon the room. On the contrary, he appears to want to make himself as physically economic as possible. There’s no strutting about, sifting importantly through the rack- full of clothes at the Grazia shoot, or affecting any superfluous poses in front of the camera. He wears what the stylist hands him, takes precise instructions from the photographer, and then waits wordlessly for the go-ahead to prep for his next shot.

Daggubati is very unassuming for having been that smokin’ hot South Indian actor people would not shut up about earlier this year, when he made his Bollywood debut with Dum Maaro Dum. His quiet, succinct answers don’t reek of stardom or slick media savvy. Which is funny, because he’s basically the Ranbir Kapoor of the Telugu film industry from which he hails. With Dadasaheb Phalke award winner and film producer Dr D Ramanaidu as his grandfather, prominent producer Suresh Babu for

his dad, Tollywood acting sensation ‘Victory Venkatesh’ for an uncle, and Suresh Productions, one of India’s oldest and largest production houses to call as his family business, it’s safe to say that the guy is big cheese. That he would go on to be part of the film industry was pretty much pre-ordained.

“I grew up in a household where films were the staple. The first few toys I played with was a film camera and especially as a child, it’s a very fascinating medium and you get absorbed into it,” he says. “Was I going to be part of films? Absolutely. An actor? Maybe, maybe not.” In fact, Daggubati’s foray into acting only happened as recently as 2009 although his cinematic career had begun almost half a decade ago. He’s dabbled in industrial photography, film production, cinematography, and was the CEO of a hugely successful visual effects company, Spirit Media, for five years before he considered stepping into the arc lights.

Why the shift? “I was trying to look for intellectual property and I figured that an actor or a director is the real intellectual property in cinema today,” he says without irony. Now this is hands-down the most curious answer I’ve ever received to that question. I’m used to impassioned little speeches about art and destiny and unbelievable co-incidences. He laughs his deep laugh, “It’s weird, I know. When I told him this, my acting coach asked me if I thought I was joining an IIM. But I come from a corporate background, it’s the way I approach things.” Doesn’t his somewhat clinical approach hamper creativity? “The opposite, actually. I’m not the sort of person to walk into a shot unprepared, it’s not the way I work. Acting is a system of cues and reactions – there’s always logic to it,” he says. “Structured creativity, I’d say.” Of the many film jobs he’s had, I ask him which one he considers his foremost profession. “A 35mm film strip,” he laughs. “I can be in it, shoot it and process it in a lab too.”

Given that he’s already working on his sixth film, shuttling between the two industries, it appears his meticulous approach is working well for him. His ease with the Hindi language and the absence of a telling South Indian twang only helps. “I was born in Chennai but we moved to Hyderabad when the Telugu film industry moved there” he explains. “Besides Tamil, I had to learn Telugu and Tamil to get around.” His adoptive city is close to heart, it’s apparent. “Hyderabad is such a beautiful, beautiful place. I can’t live anywhere else in the world,” he shakes his head. “Whether it’s the life there, the diversity, the food… (he pauses)… the food! I am a huge fan of Hyderabadi cuisine. ” It’s possible the city has made a raging foodie of him. Since he’s away from home, for some part of Ramzan, he tells me he’s taken the added precaution of getting the courier service numbers of haleem centres in Hyderabad that will deliver to Mumbai – “See, I’m always prepared,” he laughs.

Daggubati appears not to notice that he is a famous person. When I ask him if he’s comfortable with the pangs of being a celebrity, he shrugs and says, “Well the acceptance is nice but nothing’s really changed. I still eat at the same restaurants, go to the same coffee shops and work out of the same office.” By now I’m certain my next question will embarrass him greatly, which is why I have to ask it: You realise you’re considered very sexy, right? His expression is almost pained from trying to suppress the colour in his face. “Thank you. It’s just about looking the part I play, I guess,” he says awkwardly before mumbling something about characters and their requirements. Ask him about fashion and he points to the casual cotton shirt and dark jeans he has on, “I’ve dressed like this all my life. Even if I did want to be fashionable, I don’t have the know-how at all.”

He appears to have cottoned on to the logic of my questions because before I finish asking if he’s single, I’ve already received a resounding “Yes!” “There is time and effort you have to invest in a relationship which I cannot afford right now,” he explains. Fair enough, though what kind of a boyfriend would he be? “Each one of us likes to believe we’re excellent in relationships. I’m one of those,” he laughs. “But seriously, earlier I used to have a very definite idea of what someone I’d date was supposed to be like. But from experience I’ve learnt to stop that. I prefer to be surprised. So now I don’t go in with low expectations, I go in with no expectations.” That said, he’ll admit he’s attracted to tall women and women who speak flawless Tamil or Telugu especially in places like Mumbai and Delhi. Is there a personality trait that gets his goat? “I don’t like people who are belligerent or aggressive. Because of the way I look, people tend to assume I might be like that, actually,” he grins. “But I would never be around a person like that. I don’t like it.” I’ve grilled him enough and he looks relieved when I move on to simpler topics like family and his greatest influences. Theirs is a close-knit family and the men in his life – his grandfather, father and uncle – have been major influences in his life. “My grandfather once said to me ‘I don’t know if you’ll be a good actor or a bad actor. But just do one thing – just get to work on time’”, he says. “I took his advice and it’s made a world of a difference – here I am now, just two years later and doing my sixth film. It worked!”

Buzzer Round:

• My favourite film is Star Wars. It’s a genre I don’t even much like, but that film is what first inspired me to get into visual effects.
• I don’t sleep much at all. I never have for some reason. I stay up really late and wake up really early.
• The most important thing my father’s ever told me is, “You don’t become an actor with your first hit. You become an actor with your first flop, because you have to bounce back from it.”
• If my house was on fire, the only thing I’d run out with is my iPad. I’m not the sentimental sort.
• I believe in logic. I don’t believe in God, fate, luck, astrology and numerology. None of that for me. At the same time, I love reading mythology. It’s a contradiction!
• My personal style? I’d have to say whatever’s ironed at that moment.
• I love water sports, a lot. I am a trained deep-sea diver.

The 1st schedule of the film is expected to go on till the end of the May after which the team leaves for Malaysia for an extensive shoot. Cinematographer Venkata Prasad, music is by Chakri and Art Direction by AS Prakash.

After splendid tollywood debut film ‘Leader‘ next Rana bollywood debut film ‘Dum Maaro Dum’ in Ramesh Sippy Entertainment’s is all set to hit theaters worldwide on April 22nd. Distributed by Fox Star Studios, the film stars Abhishek Bachchan, Rana Daggubati, Aditya Pancholi, Prateek Babbar, Bipasa Basu and Govind Namdev. Rohan Sippy is the director.

As a part of film promotion a press meet was organised at Taj Deccan Hotel in Hyderabad today. This programme was attended by Rana Daggubati, Bipasa Basu and Rohan Sippy.

Rana, Rohan and Bipasa launched the T-shirt and tea mug with the logo of the movie on it at the press conference.

Bipasa remined that she acted with Mahesh Babu in the movie ‘Takkari’ and Ranas the second Telugu hero she is acting with.  She was all praise for Rana and said that he is a handsome guy.

Addressing the media Rana said, “I agreed to do this film even before ‘Leader’. My role in this film will be impressive. On this occasion I thank the director for giving this wonderful opportunity. ‘Dum Maaro Dum’ is being made on Goa backdrop and there are three stories in this film and mine is one. I never expected that I would do a Bollywood film so early. Although this is my 2nd film, it’s my first film in Hindi. Abhishek and Bipasa Basu were very friendly throughout the making period.”

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DUM MAARO DUM
Goa. Paradise on Earth. But every Paradise has a few snakes.
Multiple lives collide brutally one day at Goa Airport… and change forever.
Lorry (Prateik Babbar)
A student on the verge of following his girlfriend to a US University. But when his scholarship gets
rejected, his life threatens to spiral out of control, until he meets a smooth talking hustler who
promises to get it back on track. For a small price. His soul.
ACP Vishnu Kamath (Abhishek Bachchan)
A self destructive cop fleeing his own past, Kamath is given the job of destroying the brutal local
and international drug mafia in Goa. As he begins his ruthless, relentless campaign and takes on
the murky drug world… he discovers nothing is what it seems.
DJ Joki (Rana Daggubati)
A local musician and mute spectator to what is happening around him, Joki drifts aimlessly through
life after an encounter with the drug mafia cost him everything he held dear. Today he discovers
history has a nasty habit of repeating itself. Will he finally have the guts to take a stand?
Zoe (Bipasha Basu)
An aspiring airhostess who saw her dreams turn to dust, Zoey in a way represents Goa itself. A
child of the hippy generation, a mix of local and foreign culture, innocence and beauty have
gradually been replaced by cynicism and abuse.
Lorsa Biscuta aka the Biscuit ( Aditya Pancholi)
A ruthless local businessman, the Biscuit has his finger in every Goan pie, legal or illegal.

The point person between all the various Mafias operating in Goa, the Biscuit finds himself pushed to the extreme limit with Kamath’s arrival. But he knows who to turn to: A mysterious shadow
The ultimate drug kingpin. Many names, many identities but no one knows who he is….We hurtle into the bylanes, beach shacks and raves of Goa with Lorry as his life spirals out of control, with Joki as he tries to redeem the past and with Kamath as he goes no-holds-barred after the mysterious shadow figure behind it all… Punctuated with a soundtrack that moves from pulsating dance tracks to haunting Konkani songs,shot right in the midst of the teeming international tourist hotspots, Dum Maaro Dum takes you on
a dramatic, thrilling trip filled with twists, turns, suspense… and a shocking finale!

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‘Kya Hai Kahaani Tere Paap Ki’ (To face the future, they had to redeem the past!)

PRODUCTION NOTES

The ProductionDum Maaro Dum races through the bylanes and shacks of Goa to bring you the stories of four characters whose lives collide brutally at Goa airport.  ACP Kamath- a tough as nails cop, who has a past to redeem and is going to go no holds barred after the mysterious drug kingpin in Goa, who rules all the drug mafia there.Lorry- a young innocent student who will find that shortcuts in life often come with a heavy price.DJ Joki- a Goan musician, who once lost everything dear to him and stood by silently.  Now he has to make sure history does not repeat itself.Zoe- A free spirited Goan girl, whose innocence and beauty was marred when she let her ambition take her down the wrong lane.In the midst of international tourist spots, we chase these four characters as their stories culminate in a shocking finale through a trip filled with dramatic, thrilling twists and turns.

The Cast

Of course Abhishek has played a cop before, but never like this.  The beauty of ACP Kamath’s character lies in his shade of grey. Laughing outside, seething inside. The film is as much his fight against external demons as his own internal ones which are much more terrifying. ‘I think people will really like ACP Kamath’s character’ says Rohan.  ‘I had initially met Abhishek for the role of DJ Joki, but he felt an instant connection to the character of ACP Kamath and has delivered a fine performance.  There is something so empathetic about ACP Kamath, that you just want to be on his side.’

ACP Kamath having been cast, the next challenge was to find DJ Joki.  ‘This was a very difficult character to cast, you needed someone who looked Goan, which ruled out all the Punjabi faces right away’ jokes Rohan.  You also needed someone a little younger than Abhishek, because ACP Kamath plays an integral role in DJ Joki’s life, almost like a mentor. From our Associate producer

Roopa De Choudury and Telugu director Prakash Kovelamudi we heard of Rana Daggubati, an actor from Hyderabad who had completed a Telugu film called ‘Leader’.  Rana has great screen presence, a real life relaxed and happy presence, which so exemplified the Goan spirit of Susegaad (be chilled out, take it easy). The moment we met him, the moment he smiled his contagious smile…. we knew we had found our Joki.”

Casting Lorry was fairly easy, Prateik was always the first choice and he has essayed the innocence Lorry needs to perfection. His was perhaps one of the hardest roles to play in the film

— a 17 year typical middle class kid fighting failure, jealousy, loss, lust, temptation, hormones, sheer abject terror. He had a formidable brief – to balance all these elements – and he pulled it off outstandingly. His story is the heart, the driver of the film, the trigger that sets Kamath and  Joki in motion.

Casting Zoe was again a challenge.  Zoe’s character graph undergoes a complete transition in the film, you needed someone very attractive and someone who could suffuse her character with the depth and vulnerability that Zoe’s transition in the film needs.  Bipasha came on board and delivered one of the finest, most poignant, performances in the film.  She brought a grace to Zoe’s character that no one could envision.

Any discussion of the film would be incomplete without mentioning the crucial invaluable roles

played by Aditya Pancholi and Govind Namdev. Aditya, as the ultimate puppet master, the suave businessman who has to precariously balance the various foreign criminal elements and keep his calm as he takes on the ruthless Kamath, and Govind, as the veteran textbook cop who is a guide and cynical mentor to ACP Kamath, both brought a deadly gravity to their roles as perhaps no one else could. Ramesh Sippy, Producer of ‘Dum Maaro Dum’ mentions that a fellow Producer from New York had first read the script, loved it and taken it to Fox Star Studios, who in turn saw immense potential in it.  Fox Star Studios wanted to come on board as the co-producers and distributors and have been a pleasure to work with.  He believes their experience internationally and in handling distribution of a mammoth film like ‘My Name Is Khan’ will come in handy for ‘Dum  Maaro Dum’.

‘We hope that with our potpourri of exciting elements, and very talented cast and crew, this film  will succeed in exciting audiences worldwide’, says Mr. Ramesh Sippy.

‘Ultimately this film was just so much fun to work on, because of the excellent chemistry the  cast and crew shared’. signs off Rohan.