The Biography

Ramanaidu Daggubati, known professionally as Rana Daggubati, is an Indian actor, producer, visual effects entrepreneur, and television host who works predominantly in Telugu, Hindi, and Tamil cinema. Born on December 14, 1984, in Madras (present-day Chennai), Tamil Nadu, he belongs to the prominent Daggubati–Akkineni film family, being the son of producer D. Suresh Babu, grandson of legendary producer D. Ramanaidu, and nephew of actor Venkatesh. Before stepping in front of the camera, he worked as a visual effects producer, winning a National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Telugu as a co-producer for *Bommalata* (2004). He made his acting debut as the lead in Sekhar Kammula's acclaimed political drama *Leader* (2010), followed by his Hindi film debut in *Dum Maaro Dum* (2011). He achieved global recognition and critical acclaim for his imposing portrayal of the tyrannical antagonist Bhallaladeva in S. S. Rajamouli's epic two-part franchise *Baahubali: The Beginning* (2015) and *Baahubali 2: The Conclusion* (2017). His diverse filmography across multiple languages includes acclaimed titles such as *Krishnam Vande Jagadgurum* (2012), *Baby* (2015), India's first underwater war film *The Ghazi Attack* (2017), *Nene Raju Nene Mantri* (2017), the wildlife conservation drama *Haathi Mere Saathi* / *Aranya* (2021), *Bheemla Nayak* (2022), and the Tamil action drama *Vettaiyan* (2024). Beyond the big screen, he starred alongside his uncle Venkatesh in the Netflix crime drama series *Rana Naidu* (2023) and hosted the popular celebrity talk show *No. 1 Yaari with Rana*. Over his career, he has won several honors, including the Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut – South (*Leader*), the Nandi Award for Best Villain (*Baahubali: The Beginning*), and multiple South Indian International Movie Awards (SIIMA). He also heads the media and entertainment enterprise Spirit Media.