One of the pioneer cinematographers in India, SS Rajamouli’s fantastic work has moved millions of audiences, both in terms of creation and entertainment. The recent documentary on Netflix, Modern Masters, has unfurled several unknown insights from both the filmmaker’s life and works.
For instance, Rana Daggubati, in one of his revelations, shared how he was not the first choice of actor to portray the antagonist Bhallaladeva in Rajamouli’s hit series, Baahubali.
At one instance of the 73-minute long documentary, Rana Daggubati opened up about his experiences of working with SS Rajamouli. Among other revelations, the Rana Naidu actor surprisingly mentioned how he was not the first choice of actor that the makers of Baahubali had in mind when it came to finalizing the role of the antagonist and tyrant king, Bhallaladeva.
Recalling the incident, Rana revealed the conversation he had with the producer of the film and said, “The producer, Shobu Yarlagadda, came and just told me that it’s a period war-based kind of film and that they were looking at me playing the antagonist. I replied that I’d love to have a narration.” He further added, “I also asked him, ‘Who’s the actor you went to before you came to me?’”
Completing the anecdote, Rana shared that he was surprised to know that Rajamouli and the makers had tried to reach out to the Aquaman-star, Jason Momoa, before him for the role. Expressing the kind of astonishment he had after hearing this, Rana mentioned that he felt great about being considered second to such an international star.
Rana revealed, “When Shobu told me about this, I thought, “Ah, great! It’s Khal Drogo and me, in that order. I said, ‘Okay, that’s a good second number!’”
Moving forward, the actor even made a comparison between the character of Bhallaladeva, which he enacted, vis-a-vis Jason Momoa’s on-screen character of Khal Drogo in the Game of Thrones.
Citing the apparent differences in the very constitution of these distinct roles, Rana explained that his character in Baahubali is someone with whom the audience can emotionally connect.
On the other hand, Jason Momoa’s Khal Drago has a very specific purpose to fulfill, and there is more practicality than any emotional connection.
On his work front, Rana Daggubati was last seen in the Tamil film, 1945. Thereafter, he made a notable cameo in the Telugu film, Spy. Moving forward, he will be next seen in the film Vettaiyan, spearheaded by Rajinikanth.
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