Rana Daggubati On 'Rana Naidu' Trolling Over Bold Content: 'Venky Sir Had Family Image'

News18

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Rana Daggubati explains why he thinks his and Venkatesh Daggubati's Telegu fans reacted so strongly and negatively to Rana Naidu. He adds that he and Venkatesh are friends now.
The release of Rana Naidu season one in 2023 opened floodgates of criticism. Many on social media called out the makers for explicitly portraying sex and gruesome violence with generous dollops of cuss words. Earlier, Venkatesh Daggubati had also admitted to the incessant trolling he was subjected to, particularly by his Telugu audiences, who weren't used to seeing him do bold content. Naturally, the announcement of the second season of the series was met with multiple speculations that the makers have decided to sober it down.
Now, speaking exclusively to News18 Showsha, Rana Daggubati also admits that their south fans were rather taken aback with him and his uncle, Venkatesh in the show. 'It's not that they aren't used to seeing us that way. It's just that shows aren't that popular in south. Netflix and Amazon hadn't made series or shows there before this one. Rana Naidu was one of the earliest shows that they watched. Mirzapur was dubbed for the audience there but a very small segment of them had watched it," he says.
'Rana Naidu became big because both Venky sir and I were there in it. It became quite mainstream," he adds. But Rana also believes that the backlash from south fans also stemmed from Venkatesh's family man image. 'As for Venky sir's image, he was largely doing films that were family dramas. He did some negative roles very early on in his career, which got forgotten over time. Rana Naidu was a show that got him back to that element," he states.
But strong reactions from fans, Rana believes, is sometimes 'inevitable'. 'Every time you're doing something different and try to break away from a mould, there will be a bunch of people who will like you a lot and wouldn't want to see you doing the films or the characters they've been playing for the last few years. And then, there will be another bunch who won't like this new character. It's up to you as an actor as to how you can make them fall in love with this new role or image," he remarks.
However, Rana Naidu gave others the opportunity to see a different side of Venkatesh, who in real life is quite different. 'He has a sense of humour – wicked, not so much. He doesn't have an evil bone in his body. He's too much of a saint that way," points out Rana. Interestingly, this series marks their first onscreen collaboration. It goes without saying that it helped Rana explore a new dynamic to their relationship.
In his words, what he shares with his uncle today is 'friendship'. 'We definitely got much closer. We got to spend a lot more time together. Before Rana Naidu, we weren't ever together on a set as actors. I've only done some behind-the-scenes work when he was on set as an actor. The uncle-nephew relationship is gone. We're like friends now. We got to travel and have meals together. This bond is a lot of fun," shares the Virata Parvam and Vettaiyan actor.
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