Rana Daggubati emerged as one of the most sought after actors ever since he portrayed Bhallaladeva — Baahubali’s evil cousin — in SS Rajamouli's magnum opus. Although the actor has delivered several hits, he has mostly done serious role. However, that is about to change with Farhad Samji-directed Housefull 4, starring Akshay Kumar, Riteish Deshmukh, Bobby Deol, Kriti Sanon, Kriti Kharbanda, Pooja Hegde and Chunkey Pandey.

As the film is a 360-degree transition from his previous acts, Rana clarified in an interaction with a leading daily that taking up a comedy film was not intentional. Wondering what image filmmakers have of him since he's not offered comic roles, Rana added, “Forget a comedy ensemble film; I have never even done a [solo] comedy movie. Nobody asks [approaches] me to be a part of such films; I don’t know what image they [makers] have of me." 

For the unversed, Rana had replaced veteran actor Nana Patekar after the latter was accused of sexual misconduct by actress Tanushree Dutta on the sets of 2008 film Horn OK Pleassss. Talking about landing a role in the film, Rana revealed, “So when I got a call for the film (Housefull 4), and Sajid (Nadiadwala) and Farhad (Samji) came down to Hyderabad to narrate the story, I was very interested. The story is so funny that I wanted to be a part of it,” adding that he is excited to collaborate with Akshay.

RECOMMENDED READ: Here's why Salman Khan, Vidya Balan and Shikhar Dhawan visited Akshay Kumar and his gang on Housefull 4 sets

Since Housefull 4 is an emsemble film, Rana feels that one needs to put extra effort to get noticed among so many actors. “I never had any issues doing ensemble films and nor has any such thought ever crossed my mind. For me, it’s fun to work with actors such as Akshay Kumar. I also worked with Balakrishna (NTR Mahanayakudu) in my last film. They are actors who have done different films, roles, and over the years have taken decisions that have changed their careers. And when you share the screen and time with them, you acquire a lot of knowledge," he signed off.

Apart from Housefull 4, Rana will be seen in Haathi Mere Saathi, Hiranya Kashyap and Virataparvam apart from reportedly featuring in Bhuj - The Pride of India, which also stars Ajay Devgn.

(Source: Hindustan TImes)