Rana Daggubati: Real life can be boring; it was fun to let go in ‘Bheemla Nayak’

Rana Daggubati opens up on playing a flamboyant and ego-driven character, riding the Pawan Kalyan wave and on working with tech companies and content developers

Bheemla Nayak, releasing on February 25, will be the first big Telugu film to arrive in theatres post the third wave of COVID-19. The remake of the Malayalam film Ayyappanum Koshiyum will have Pawan Kalyan reprising the role of Biju Menon and Rana Daggubati in the shoes of Prithviraj Sukumaran. The film is expected to bring the crowds back into cinema halls and understandably, Rana Daggubati is eager to gauge the reactions to this masala-laden outing. 

Edited excerpts from a freewheeling conversation with the actor:

Ayyappanum Koshiyum was widely watched in the early days of lockdown. Tell us about the thought process that went into remaking an already popular film.

I watched the film and thought Koshy Kurien would be an interesting role to play. The Malayalam film had a cool plot that was rooted to Kerala’s culture and politics. There was scope to adapt the film to suit the culture and politics in the two Telugu States. When I learnt that producer Suryadevara Naga Vamsi of Sithara Entertainments had purchased the remake rights, I conveyed my interest to be a part of it. He later reverted with the news that Pawan Kalyan was eager to reprise the part of Ayyappan. The project grew bigger with him and Trivikram Srinivas (writer-director) stepping in. 

Bheemla Nayak retains the soul of the original, showing the clash of two men of egos. There are new plot points and our film is shorter, around 2 hours 10 or 15 minutes, as opposed to the nearly three-hour original.

Is this your most masala-laden project yet, after Baahubali?

I don’t do the regular mainstream films with a usual love story, song and dance. I have been a king (Baahubali), a jungle man (Aranya) and so on. Daniel Shekhar in Bheemla… is the most relaxed character I have done so far. It was a joy to play a flamboyant, brash guy. In real life, we tend to be restrained. It was fun to let go (laughs).