Raj Shamani - Rana Daggubati

1) Rana Daggubati, a South Indian actor best known for his role in Baahubali. He discusses the rising popularity of South Indian movies and how the film industry is changing due to technology like AI. Daggubati talks about his investments, including a gin and tonic company, and how he chooses the right projects to work on.

2) Rana talks about his experience filming underwater scenes for his movie "Ghazi." He mentions that the set was built in an under-construction parking lot next to a swimming pool and though it was challenging, he enjoyed filming scenes in the water. The conversation then shifts to Rana’s physical transformations, including his issues with eyesight and kidney failure. Despite these challenges, he never doubted his ability to succeed and has continued to pursue his varied interests and careers.

3) Rana discusses his approach to selecting roles in films, focusing on being a part of the story rather than the main protagonist to avoid a lot of energy and responsibility. He also shares his love for playing the villain in films, which he finds to be more fun due to the energy and rhythm of the character. Furthermore, he talks about his appreciation for legacies and permanence, which influences his work and drives his aim to create things that last forever. While he doesn't think about how he wants to be remembered, he emphasizes the importance of why he is doing things and ensuring fun and value for people.

4) Rana discusses the importance of storytelling and its impact on Indian cinema. He explains that Indian cinema has a rich history of mythology and folklore that has been captured through film, and with modern technology, these stories can now be told at scale. Daggubati invested in an old language learning business because it gave him access to old stories that can be built upon and retold to captivate a modern audience. He values the potential of these stories in terms of their ability to instill Indian values and culture into mass entertainment. While Daggubati sees himself as a storyteller, he does acknowledge his position as an investor in multiple ventures, including a VFX studio, talent management company, sports franchise, and VC company.

5) Rana reveals that he partied a lot during his early 20s when he started making money. He admits that investing and managing his money wasn't a priority at the time, which is something he wishes he had done differently. However, he has no regrets about the extravagances and experiences he had during that time, which he believes gave him exposure to a world that few people have the opportunity to see. He also shares about investing in an alcohol brand after his recovery from a health issue and how he explored different experiences that shaped his understanding of culture and lifestyle.

6) Rana talks about the impact of music festivals on his life and how they have helped him become a better person. He believes that music festivals have the power to change people's lives irrespective of their financial status or appearance. Rana also talks about the importance of balance in his life and how his wife has brought that balance. He considers himself an extremist and believes that his wife is the perfect balance to him.

7) Rana talks about his ambition to make more money than his father and his dream of creating a studio that can withstand the test of time. Rather than valuing businesses that spend exorbitant amounts of money, Daggubati believes that it's the businesses that can sustain themselves for long periods, ultimately providing stable employment and value, that are the most valuable. He also emphasizes that business should be driven by its productor service instead of the financial aspect, and that storytelling is essential in the entertainment industry. Daggubati values businesses that prioritize employee satisfaction, maintaining employment stability through the pandemic,and providing one-of-a-kind customer experiences.

‍

‍

8) Rana talks about his approach to his work and income. He discusses how he believes that the people creating the content are the most important as without them, there would be no end product, rather than just focusing on one aspect of the process. He also mentions that while acting is his main source of income, he also invests in his own businesses and new ideas he feels passionate about, especially in the technology and content creation sectors. However, he admits that this investing can lead him to spend all of his money, but he sees it as necessary for growth in the future.

9) Rana discusses his interest in investing in blockchain syndication technologies that can improve his business or filmmaking. He explains that he consistently invests in these companies because it is a small pool in the country and that it requires a lot of resources to build them. Unlike the west, the IT and entertainment sectors are different in India, and he believes it is important to build bridges between the two for long-term business. Daggubati aspires to build the infrastructure of MediaTech in India, like in Western countries, but with a focus on mythology and the gods worshiped in the country.

10) Rana discusses the influence of mythology on superhero stories and how all characters are inspired by it. He also mentions that he would be interested in making superhero movies and reveals that Iron Man and The Dark Knight are his favorite superhero movies. When asked to choose between power, fame, and money, he chooses money as it's easier to make and he believes his job will make him famous. He attributes the growing acceptance of South Indian movies to the fact that they are more connected to Indian roots and ethos in their storytelling, whereas Bollywood was more modern and culture-specific.

11) Rana talks about how cinema has been a great tool in uniting India and brings people together despite the state or region they come from. He also touches on the differences between Bollywood and South Indian cinema, highlighting that South Indian movies are more about relatability and authenticity whereas Bollywood movies focus more on aspiration. Daggubati notes that there are now more South Indian movies being accepted by a wider Indian audience and that the industry is slowly becoming more industrialized, learning from the business and organization models of Bollywood, while still maintaining a focus on culture and storytelling.

12) Rana Daggubati talks about the need for variety in Indian cinema and the importance of incorporating different cultures and languages. He mentions the lack of English language films in the Indian film industry and believes that Bollywood should take the front forward in making them. Additionally, Rana emphasizes the need for southern cinema to understand the distribution dynamics on a global level and connect with larger corporations around the world. He also talks about how the entertainment industry can help people understand different cultures better and how it creates a leveling environment where everyone works together on a film set.

13) Rana discusses the role of AI in writing and how it can aid writers to write better. He mentioned that it needs an enormous amount of data and people using it for AI to understand what people like and to eventually trust a machine to write a script for a movie. He also explains that every hero has a similar arc, and their journey is similar in nature, no matter what kind of hero it is. Rana mentions the protagonist pattern in Telugu and Tamil movies, which portrays the protagonist as a super powerful macho man but super soft at heart when it comes to his mother and family angle.

14) Rana discusses the enduring popularity of Indian mythology and how stories such as the Ramayana and Mahabharata continue to resonate with audiences today. He notes that these stories provide a simplistic idealized image of a hero which appeals to a wide range of people, including those who identify themselves through religion or politics. However, although there may be some formulaic guidelines to follow for making a commercially successful film, it is the films that offer a unique and unforgettable experience that tend to become the most successful. Rana points to his own experience with the blockbuster hit Bahubali, which followed many established storytelling rules while also offering an extravagance that made it a first-of-its-kind movie experience for audiences.

15) Rana talks about the mainstream emotions that work in cinema, including love, victory, and revenge, and how these strike emotional chords with audiences. He also discusses the signaling value of cinema, where everything an individual does is consciously or subconsciously done to signal something about themselves. For Daggubati, the signal he wants to give is that audiences will see things for the first time and experience a different world when they watch his films. He values quality over quantity when it comes to his work, and when switching between artist and business modes, he lets other people handle any business responsibilities while he is filming.

‍

‍

16) Rana talks about the influence of the characters he plays in movies on his personal life. He mentions that he begins to behave like the character even after he leaves the set, and that there are some leakages from his story to his personal life. He also talks about how playing the role of a real person like Chandra Babu Naidu in the NTR biopic influenced him in terms of discipline and authority. When asked about his future plans, he says that he never thought about entering politics before, but he never says never to anything. He also talks about his constant effort to offer the newest and coolest version of himself as an actor, and the pressure that comes with his last success.

17) Rana talks about his upcoming show on Netflix called "Rana Naidoo", which is a dark family drama about a bunch of gangsters and fixers. It stars him and his uncle playing father and son, and is the first time they have done something like this together. He describes it as a narrative that he would never do on film, but it leads to a great long form, and he got to learn a lot of new things from it. He believes that young people should focus on understanding AI and everything that it can do in their lives, because it will be a very important thing in the future. Additionally, he advises that it is fine to fail and that nothing is constant, everything is subject to change and everything will pass.