Barely
one
Hindi
and
Telugu
film
old,
Rana
Daggubati
is
already
one
of
the
most
talked-about
new-age
actors,
hellbent
on
breaking
the
myth
about
South
Indian
heroes
from
Kamal
Hassan
and
Rajinikanth
to
the
latest
Vikram,
being
no-nos
in
Bollywood.
Rana
for
one,
speaks
fluent
Hindi.
And
the
single-ready-to-mingle
image
doesn't
hurt
either.
Then
there's
the
pedigree.
Rana
is
the
scion
of
the
illustrious
D.
Ramanaidu
production
house.
Once
they
were
the
Kings.
Rana
Daggubati,
much
in
the
news
for
his
Casanova
image
(ill-earned,
he
says)
is
all
set
to
revive
the
glory
of
his
grandfather's
illustrious
banner
D
Ramanaidu
in
Mumbai.
Listed
in
the
Guinness
Book
Of
Records
as
the
most
prolific
Indian
producer
with
110
films
in
Hindi,
Telugu,
Tamil
and
other
languages,
the
banner,
though
fully
active
and
flourishing
in
Hyderabad,
has
become
inactive
in
Hindi
cinema
after
the
failure
of
their
last
film
Kuch
Tum
Kahon
Kuch
Hum
Kahein
in
2002.
Now
Rana,
who
proudly
takes
his
surname
from
his
distinguished
grandfather
(the
'D'
in
D.
Ramanaidu
stands
for
'Daggubati'),
is
all
set
to
revive
his
family's
banner
in
Mumbai
with
a
spectacular
Hindi
film
on
the
lines
of
D
Ramanaidu's
Hindi
blockbusters
like
Premnagar
and
Tohfa.
In
fact
one
of
the
business
savvy
Rana's
aims
while
doing
a
Hindi
film
so
early
in
his
career
was
to
quickly
revive
his
home
banner
in
Mumbai.
The
Hindi
project
would
star
Rana,
with
some
of
his
Dum
Maro
Dum
co-stars
including
Bipasha
Basu
pitching
in.
Says
the
Telugu
star,
"I'm
very
lucky
to
have
got
along
well
with
all
my
co-stars
in
my
first
Hindi
film.
It
was
a
different
world
for
me.
Not
that
I
am
not
familiar
with
Hindi
films
and
stars.
Our
home
production
has
been
active
in
Hindi
for
decades.
But
I
was
never
looked
on
as
South-Indian
star
by
my
co-stars
in
Dum
Maro
Dum."
Confirming
his
plans
to
produce
and
act
in
a
Hindi
film
for
his
home
banner,
Rana
says,
"That
was
definitely
part
of
my
plan
from
the
start.
See,
unlike
the
other
South
Indian
stars
who
have
come
to
Hindi
cinema
after
doing
a
dozens
of
films
in
their
home
language,
I
did
one
Telugu
film
Leader
and
quickly
signed
a
Hindi
film.
Now
that
Dum
Maro
Dum
is
nearly
complete,
I'm
doing
two
Telugu
films
and
then
the
Hindi
film."
Mention
Surya
who
would
be
making
his
Bollywood
debut
at
around
the
same
time,
Rana
says,
"Surya
has
been
superstar
in
Tamil
for
years.
I
saw
his
films
when
I
was
in
school.
I
think
I'm
close
to
Bollywood
because
being
a
Hyderabadi
I
speak
fluent
Hindi."
Unlike
other
Southern
stars
trying
to
consolidate
their
position
in
Bollywood
Rana
doesn't
feel
the
need
to
relocate
to
Mumbai.
"I'm
just
a
flight
away
from
Mumbai.
After
Mumbai
producers
see
me
in
Dum
Maro
Dum,
they'll
know
how
serious
I
am
about
my
career
in
Mumbai."
About
his
much
talked-about
love
scene
with
Bipasha
in
Dum
Maro
Dum,
Rana
says,
"I
was
most
comfortable
doing
it.
Bipasha
and
I
got
along
from
Day
1.
By
the
time
we
came
to
the
love
scene
we
were
friends
and
very
comfortable
with
one
another
as
co-stars."
Mention
the
link-up
with
Shreya
Saran
and
Rana
nearly
chokes
with
disbelief,
"Shreya
and
me?
That's
a
new
one.
We've
known
each
other
for
years.
She
has
worked
in
our
home
productions.
So
yeah,
she's
a
friend.
Beyond
that
I
haven't
met
her
for
months.
Right
now
there's
no
one
in
my
life.
When
there
is
I'll
announce
it
so
loud
every
media
person
in
Mumbai
will
hear
me
loud
and
clear."
So
is
he
the
lady-killer
he's
made
out
to
be?
"I
wish
some
of
the
link-ups
were
true.
Sadly
I
am
only
into
my
work.
There's
no
girl
in
my
life
at
the
moment."
Ah,
not
the
kiss-and
-tell
types.