Actor Rana Daggubati, best known for his role as the formidable Bhallaladeva in SS Rajamouli’s ‘Baahubali’ franchise, recently reflected on the impact of cinema on his life and career. In an interview with Galatta Plus, the actor spoke about the re-release of ‘Baahubali: The Epic’ and shared insights into his journey as an artist, his early cinematic influences, and his upcoming film ‘Kaantha’.

The restored version, ‘Baahubali: The Epic’, combines ‘Baahubali: The Beginning’ (2015) and ‘Baahubali 2: The Conclusion’ (2017) into a single re-release, featuring enhanced visuals and sound. The films star Prabhas in dual roles, alongside Anushka Shetty, Ramya Krishnan, Sathyaraj, Rana Daggubati, and Nassar in key performances.

Revisiting a cinematic milestone

Speaking about returning to ‘Baahubali’, Daggubati described the experience as deeply nostalgic. “It’s fun because it’s the first story that was told to us. Because it was actually supposed to be one film at some time and it just turned out to be a one long film. It was just so amazing to revisit that and that we got to see it a decade later and still have aged beautifully, on the big screen,” he said.

The actor reflected on how ‘Baahubali’ redefined Indian mythological storytelling for modern audiences. “What do you grow up in India with? You grow up with stories of mythology, you grow up with stories of wars of gods and kings and the only reference you have as a feature film is ‘Bahubali’ in some manner,” he said, noting how Rajamouli’s vision “pushed each boundary” and created demigod-like heroes who brought mythic grandeur back to cinema.

Choosing the unconventional

Revisiting his early years, Daggubati revealed how his unconventional film choices shaped his career. “Coming to the beginning, I chose to be an actor in some ways because the other actors didn’t want to do the films I wanted to make. And ‘Leader was’ the first choice,” he said, adding that a politically driven drama like ‘Leader’ was “abnormal” for Telugu cinema at the time.

He also pointed out his experimental streak with ‘Ghazi’, India’s first submarine film. “I did a submarine film which nobody believed in at that point and there was no other submarine film made even till today. A large part of the audience saw a submarine for the first time through this film,” Daggubati said.

Learning through cinema

The actor spoke candidly about how films expanded his understanding of the world. “I think if you’re able to take them into worlds, transport them into places which they’ve never seen, I think that’s an excitement to me,” he said. Sharing a humorous anecdote from his childhood, Daggubati added, “I knew of the US-Russian conflict because of action films that I watched. I knew there was a country called Russia that exists because of ‘Rambo’. I didn’t know Russia was a country. That’s what cinema can do to you.”

Daggubati recounted how his taste in cinema evolved over time. “I was in fifth grade when ‘Iruvar’ was released and I walked out in the interval of the film because I thought it was damn boring. I watched it in Telugu. I didn’t know about Madras politics. But growing up I watched that film so many times—it’s just unbelievable how much of that impact has rubbed off on me,” he said.

On his next project, ‘Kaantha’

Speaking about his upcoming film ‘Kaantha’, Daggubati described it as a genre-defying experience. “We didn’t know the genre of the film. It takes you on a ride that you’ve never seen before. You’re pushing the boundary in terms of what has been. You don’t have a reference point to go back to,” he said.

The Tamil-language period drama, directed by Selvamani Selvaraj, is set in 1950s Madras and is said to draw inspiration from the golden era of Tamil cinema. The film stars Dulquer Salmaan as matinee idol TK Mahadevan, Samuthirakani as director Ayya, Rana Daggubati as Inspector Phoenix, and Bhagyashri Borse as the female lead. Produced by Daggubati’s Spirit Media and Dulquer’s Wayfarer Films, ‘Kaantha’ is slated for a worldwide release on November 14, 2025.

Although comparisons have been drawn to the life of legendary actor MK Thyagaraja Bhagavathar, sources close to the project maintain that the film is a fictional work exploring the “fall of a star.”

For Daggubati, every film remains a learning journey. “There’s some experience that you’ll gather in some ways but a story will teach you so much more and I think ‘Kaantha’ has done that for me,” he said.