Granddad’s life is an encyclopedia for me: Rana

Rana Daggubati, fresh off the triumph of ‘Ghazi’, admits that his as-yet-untitled political drama with Teja, which his dad Suresh Babu is producing under Suresh Productions, is his most comfortable project till date. He reasons, “I have the luxury of going back to the editing table and see if its right. If it’s not, I can go back to the sets and fix it. So time is not really a constraint when I’m working with SP.”

So, how comfortable was he with dad on sets? Did he dole out tips on a constant basis? “Dad concentrates more on the script and the editing, but yeah, he was around for most of the schedules… it’s a creative process and we need everyone’s inputs,” he informs.

It must have been easy to work with Teja, especially after working with a tough taskmaster like SS Rajamouli? Rana begs to differ, saying, “First things first, I don’t know why everyone considers Rajamouli as a tough taskmaster because he isn’t. He is clear with what he wants, explains it beautifully and if you are reasonably smart enough, you can get your way easily with him.

“Working with Teja has been a blessing; he’s been here for long and has rich knowledge about cinema. The film is something, which is in his zone.” Rana was very close to his legendary grandfather Dr D Ramanaidu who passed away two years ago. Given the ups and downs the doyen went through in his career, does he think a biopic can be made on his life? “It’s a legendary life he lived.

His life is an encyclopedia for me,” he says, adding that he hasn’t thought about making a biopic on his grandfather. “But some recorded history of his life would be made available for public for sure… whether it’s through a book or through a series.” Next up, Rana would be producing ‘Kshanam’ director Ravikanth Perepu’s next.

Is this is the same project that would see him and his superstar uncle Venkatesh together? He says that the untitled film would feature a bunch of newcomers and that he and his uncle are still on the hunt for a script that would bring them together. “We hope to get a right one soon,” he says, further revealing that he has turned producer to encourage fresh and innovative content.

By Nagaraj Goud