As told to Akash Bhatnagar (MUMBAI MIRROR; May 29, 2020)

I still remember the first day I walked on to a film set as an actor for my Telugu debut, Leader. On the first day itself, I had scenes with Suhasini Maniratnam, who was playing my mother in the film. Sekhar Kammula, my director, and his ADs, all chilled-out people, were a bit overwhelmed since the scale of this film was slightly big. Eventually, Suhasini ji was the one who made me comfortable, sitting with me, rehearsing the scene and chatting about different things to familiarise me with my surroundings. I was stunned to see a veteran actress like her sit down and chat with me.

Coincidentally, my first shot was of the two of us sitting together after my father’s death in the film. She gives me his diary, which has a list of all that he wanted to do in his life. It felt somewhat surreal, but I was happy to face the camera.

Rohan’s (Sippy, director) wife Roopa had got some stills of mine from Leader through a friend from the sets. They were casting for Dum Maaro Dum at the time and Rohan called me to ask if I wanted to audition. I was game. He sent the script over and I loved it. All this happened around the initially scheduled release of Leader, a political film. At that time, there was a lot of political disturbance in Andhra Pradesh, with the erstwhile Chief Minister (Y S Rajasekhara Reddy) having just passed away. Our film was getting pushed repeatedly. So, when I got Rohan’s call, I took some rushes from Leader along, with the editor’s approval. Rohan liked them and told me that they would be shooting in Goa for three-four months. And I was on board.

Being from Hyderabad, I knew and spoke Hindi, but I never thought I would be speaking it in a film so soon. Luckily, since I was a Goan in the film, my accent didn’t matter. But I did undergo diction-training in Hindi and guitar classes, biking lessons. I was in Mumbai for around two months for the prep before the film rolled.

Dum Maaro Dum was set in Goa, with just Prateik (Babbar) and me there along with Rohan during the first week of the shoot. I’d been hanging out with them for a while during the training and since we were around the same age, it turned out to be the best film shoot of my life. For my first shot, it was just Prateik and me enjoying ourselves at a carnival. And for the first five days, it was only that, after which the main work started.

There was a sense of accomplishment after doing two films in two years, in two different film industries. But the euphoria faded away quickly, as my next films in both languages tanked the year after. In my first three years in the industry, I had two hits and two flops. That was a reality check!


Rana Daggubati with Suhasini Maniratnam in Leader; with Prateik Babbar in Dum Maaro Dum

As told to Avinash Lohana (MUMBAI MIRROR; January 22, 2019)

I must have been 18 when I started dabbling in industrial photography after a course in photo lab management from one of the institutes in Chennai. At the time, not many took up photography professionally. The photographers, who were around, were driven by passion. I was not keen on a Bachelor of Commerce (BCom) degree so I opted for this one as I found it to be creatively more satisfying.

To start with, I used to do a lot of independent photography for different brands, working with a couple of advertising professionals of the time. I did that for a few months, juggling between Chennai and Bangalore. I would spend a couple of hours every day on photography while simultaneously studying film processing at a lab. My family used to own a film lab back then and I believed this would help me take that business forward. But soon film reels went out of fashion and digital took over. So, all that studying came to naught.

I have always been fascinated by lavishly-mounted spectacles though at the time I had no way of knowing I would feature in the 2015 epic, Baahubali, and its sequel two years later. I was an avid Star Wars fan and wanted to be a part of the making process of such films and learn the craft. So, without wasting any time, I joined a visual effects company that was into post-production for movies.

I started out as a compositor, putting several layers together. For example, in a car blast scene, you shoot the actors in one layer and the blast in another, then bring them together digitally by compositing them. Earlier the same process was done by camera masking, but with advancement in technology, the results are better. Over time, I started managing the facility as visual effects supervisor.

One of the first films I worked on was Mani Shankar’s sci-fi action adventure, Rudraksh, with Sanjay Dutt and Suniel Shetty in the lead. That was the first time I was exposed to visual effects and 3D processes as very few CG (Computer Graphics) based films were made at the time. I worked at these places for around a year-and-a-half since money was not an issue, with my parents doing well and assuring me financial security. I don’t remember what I did with my first earning but being a foodie, I’m pretty sure I splurged on a meal at some restaurant.

Having developed a keen interest in visual effects, I started my own VFX studio which I ran for around six years and worked on almost 50-60 films. I used to work with a small team and dealt with many independent studios. While doing this I also produced a Telugu film, Bommalata, directed by Prakash Kovelamudi, which was adjudged Best Film in Telugu at the 53rd National Awards.

Encouraged, I wanted to produce more films in the indie space. However, the audience then was not very accepting of such genres and were instead hooked on commercial cinema. So, I took some time off and decided to act in the films I would like to make. That’s how I made my debut with Sekhar Kammula’s 2010 political-drama, Leader (below) which wasn’t a regular Telugu film back then.

Meanwhile, I had sold off my visual effects company and worked with a gaming firm briefly before becoming an actor. We made PC-based games. Around the time Aamir Khan’s Ghajini released and we had made a game based on the film. That was my entry into the Hindi film industry.

While I love what I do, I have not lost touch with the businessman in me. I have invested in start-ups dealing in virtual reality and augmented reality. I intend to continue doing this.

Avinash Lohana (MUMBAI MIRROR; September 21, 2015)

Bharati Dubey (MID-DAY; May 5, 2014)

Amitabh Bachchan and wife Jaya will be once again seen together in make-up man-and-producer Deepak Sawant’s film, Leader. The couple has already featured in two of his films: Ganga Devi and Akka.

Says Deepak Sawant, “In the film, Amitabh and Jaya Bachchan will play father-in-law and mother-in-law to the female character played by actress Pakhi Hegde.”

The Bachchans’ presence in Sawant’s film is perhaps not so surprising; after all, no film of his is complete without Big B. The veteran actor has, in fact, starred in all four films that Sawant has produced so far; this includes his three Bhojpuri films and one Marathi film. “As far as Mr Bachchan is concerned, he always plays a pivotal character in my films. So does Jayaji,” says Sawant.

WATCH THE TRAILER OF 'LEADER' HERE