Rana Daggubati: Want to make Hiranyakashyap better than Baahubali

Rana Daggubati in a still from Baahubali

It has been almost two years since Rana Daggubati announced his magnum opus, Hiranyakashyap, to be produced by father Suresh Babu. With little update about the Gunasekhar-directed film in the interim, word on the street was that the mythical film - said to be mounted on a staggering budget of Rs 180 crore - had been put on the backburner due to the actor's rumoured health scare. However, talking to mid-day, Daggubati insists that the project will go on floors by late-2020.

"There is no delay; it's just that we are using the latest technology available," begins the actor, adding that the movie will be high on visual effects. "We are building virtual reality sets, along with rendered visuals as seen in [video] games, which will allow us to watch the film digitally even before we start shooting. This is probably the first time it is happening in India. We are collaborating with a 3D scanning company, which specialises in medical technology. We realised that their scans were better than what was being done in [studios in] Los Angeles. Since there is a lot of groundwork to be done, the film will roll in another eight months."

Rana Daggubati

Evidently proud of his offering that tells the story of the demon king who was killed by Narasimha, Daggubati doesn't shy away from comparing it with his blockbuster Baahubali. "We want to make it better than Baahubali." Apart from films, the actor has been an active entrepreneur. He recently tied up with Anthill Ventures to launch Urban-i, a platform to encourage consumer brand start-ups. "India has many promising young start-ups that have the potential to grow rapidly, if provided with the right support. We will scout for them and provide strategically designed platforms to entrepreneurs."

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