Rana set to play long innings in Bollywood

Hyderabad: 'Not even had I landed in Mumbai and the gossip mills began about me and Bipasha,' says the Daggubati scion
Tollywood hunk Rana Daggubati is on an all-time high.

Fresh from the success of his splashy debut in Dum Maro Dum, he is set to play a long innings in Bollywood with his next movie with none other than director Ram Gopal Varma.

Speaking in an informal chat at the relaunch of a clothing brand in Hyderabad, he said about his next Bollywood flick Department with Ramgopal Varma.

Rana plays a police officer in the movie which also stars Amithabh Bachchan and Sanjay Dutt. Talking about director Ramu, he said, 'Ramu is clear about what he wants from actor. He gives perfect brief before he begins the shoot,' he said. He is amazed at his co-star Amitabh Bachchan energy as well.

Currently, Rana is shooting for his next telugu movie Naa Ishtam opposite Genelia D'Souza. It is a romantic comedy directed by Prakash Toleti. The shooting for this film is almost complete.

When asked about Tollywood's current bad patch - with almost no film getting its returns at the box office, he said, 'If you look at any film industry, success rate of films getting successful is very low at around 5-10%.

More than thousand movies get released every year in Hollywood, but how many do we come to know about, hardly 10-15 movies a year. I am not worried about Telugu movies as it is doing well.'

About Mumbai media churning out gossip about his link up Bipasha Basu, his co-star in his Bollywood debut movie Dum Maro Dum, he calmly said, 'Media in Mumbai is always in need of something spicy. Not even had I landed in Mumbai, they started spreading rumours'.

Does he ever get bored of shoots and promotions? How does he relax? 'This is my job and I have to do. When I am at home, I relax. But most of the time I spend in my office or in shoot. I don't do meditation or any such things to relax. I simply go for vacations, but it's been a while since I went for one,' said the actor.

Having superstars at home must be beneficial for him? 'I grow up in a joint family. The education begen when I was a toddler. I don't remember. My grandfather is one of the ace producers in Tollywood. Naga Chaitanya is my brother. Ram Charan and I were classmates till Class V,' Rana recounts about his family.

He feels sad when he talks about his friend Mohammad Ayazuddin who recently lost his life in a bike accident this week. 'I am very sad. I have been close to Mohammad Azharuddin,' he adds.