When He Started…
Rana is the son of a Telugu producer, Suresh Babu Daggubati. He completed his academics at Hyderabad Public School. His paternal granddaughter was also a popular producer who was acclaimed with the Padma Bhushan award. Most of his family members belong to the cinema and the majority of them are Telugu superstars. It doesn’t mean that the journey for Rana was smooth as butter in acting. When you have superstars in the family, it is moreover difficult to compete with them and follow their legacy.
Before Becoming An Actor…
In 2005, before becoming an actor he set up Spirit Media, a company that specialized in VFX and animation and produced National Award-winning films. He thus went on to work on over 70 films as a VFX co-coordinator. A confessed geek, he owns a technology company, Anthill Studios, which invests in start-ups in the VFX, augmented reality, and AI space, like AppStar (augmented reality), LDM (a visual effects studio based in London), and GameStop (a game development studio), among others. He is particularly heavily invested in VFX, and also owns the south Indian arm of Kwan, the celebrity management and Services Company that also deals in film acquisition, licensing, and digital activations.
As an actor…
He has gained a critical audience and commercial acclaim, but few know that Daggubati is also a producer and entrepreneur, a creative force who has been enriching multiple film industries with his expertise for almost a decade.
In 2010, he marked his acting debut with Leader, which established him as a bankable actor in the Telugu film industry. He then went on to foray into Hindi cinema, or the popular Bollywood, with Dum Maaro Dum. He subsequently acted in several Telugu and Hindi films, before his role as the lead antagonist in the 2015 film, Baahubali: The Beginning, which catapulted him to new heights of stardom.
The sequel, Baahubali 2: The Conclusion, became the first Indian film to hit the 1000-crore mark in box office collections. The phenomenal success of the film wasn’t limited to the BO numbers but has grown into a universe much larger than cinema, with games, manga comics, merchandising, and more still in high demand.
Taking his learnings from the global success of Baahubali, he is also collaborating with Amar Chitra Katha (ACK) to create two spectacle films. There are also plans to associate with Universal Studios and Imagica, to create theme parks based on ACK and these spectacle films. To top all of that, he has stakes in sporting events, like the Super Boxing League, Premier Futsal, and the Premier Badminton League.
