Ramanaidu “Rana” Daggubati is an Indian actor and producer known primarily for his work in Telugu language films, in addition to Hindi and Tamil languages. Rana is described as one of the few actors in India who were able to achieve pan-Indian appeal, having taken up a variety of roles, from leading roles to supporting characters, in different languages.
He made his acting debut with the Telugu film Leader, for which he won the Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut – South. He later starred in the Hindi film Dum Maaro Dum (2011), alongside Bipasha Basu, where he received positive reviews for his performance and won Zee Cine Award for Best Male Debut. In 2012, Rana gained prominence by starring in hit Telugu film Krishnam Vande Jagadgurum. In 2015, he played a notable supporting role in the successful Hindi film Baby (2015). He later starred as Bhallaladeva, the main antagonist in Telugu–Tamil bilingual film Baahubali: The Beginning (2015), which recorded the second highest gross opening for an Indian film. He then featured in a supporting role in Tamil film Bangalore Naatkal (2016). In 2017, Rana later reprised his role as Bhallaldeva in Baahubali 2: The Conclusion, which became the highest grossing Indian film of all time. He has also simultaneously starred in the successful films such as Rudramadevi (2015), Ghazi (2017), and Nene Raju Nene Mantri (2017).
As a visual effects producer, Rana won the State Nandi Award for Best Special Effects in 2006 for the Telugu film Sainikudu. In 2006, he received the National Film Award for co-producing Bommalata. Rana is also an established television personality, hosting award shows such as the 2nd IIFA Utsavam, the South Indian International Movie Awards. He also hosts his own celebrity talk show, No. 1 Yaari. Alongside building a career in cinema, Rana is invested in businesses ranging from a business accelerator programme for technology startups, to an entertainment agency and a comic book company.
Mr Daggubati became the board member of Mumbai Academy of the Moving Image.
