Afew years ago, Rana Daggubati underwent a kidney transplant, and at a young age, he also had a cornea transplant. Speaking at an event in Gurugram, the actor-producer revealed that these treatments took a toll on him, making him irritable and mean.

Reflecting on this challenging phase, he shared, “It’s funny because once you get into this life-threatening zone, you start looking at life very differently.”

Daggubati, now 39, disclosed that his health issues emerged after the release of Baahubali movies where he gained acclaim for his muscular physique. However, during the treatment, he lost weight, leading to inquiries about his health that he found difficult to handle.

“Everyone saw me bulked up for Baahubali: The Beginning (2015). So, everyone asked if I was ill, and I didn’t want to answer them. It was harder for me to live with people in the city; it was too much. I started becoming a slightly mean person. There was a point when if people asked about my health, I said, ‘Unless you can donate a kidney or an eye, don’t ask about it’. I didn’t like what I was doing,” he said.

Finding solace during the shoot in the jungle for Prabhu Solomon’s 2021 Tamil film Kaadan (released as Aranya in Telugu and Haathi Mere Saathi in Hindi), Daggubati expressed, “I got the chance to shoot in the jungle; I was there for almost a year. I shot with elephants. Nobody judged me there; nobody cared if I was sick. The silence there is what I needed in my life. Nature is a greater healer than anything else.”