Venkatesh Daggubati: I and Rana took cues from one another to play our roles in Rana Naidu

F3, Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan actor Venkatesh Daggubati is gearing up for his digital debut with Netflix’s Rana Naidu on March 10. He shares screen space with his nephew and actor-producer Rana Daggubati in the show. Both Venkatesh and Rana, cast as Naga Naidu and Rana Naidu, play a father-son duo who can’t stand one another.

The show, an adaptation of the American series Ray Donovan, promises to be a delectable crime thriller that takes interesting twists and turns. Ahead of Rana Naidu’s release, Venkatesh spoke of his excitement about playing a role with several grey shades. “The journey was exciting for sure. The vibe of a film and a web show is quite different and it took me time to adapt to the setup,” he said.

“The pace and style of the storytelling are different in a web show and a film. Complex characters always grab my attention and that’s why my role in Rana Naidu is special. It’s an interesting challenge to play a role that's so different from your core personality and it's also incredibly rewarding,” Venkatesh stated. It wasn’t easy to be pitted against his nephew, even if it was for the screen alone.

“It was a unique experience to take on Rana on screen. We share a great rapport off-screen and we’re more like friends than uncle and nephew. It was tough to bring out the troubled equation and hatred for each other as the father-son duo. It’s equally gratifying too to experience these unusual situations and emotions to help audience relate to the character,” the Gharshana star added.

Reportedly, Venkatesh and Rana took cues from each other to bring their characters to life. While the duo was offered many multistarrers in Telugu, they felt the show brought out a hatke side to them and the stars saw this as an opportunity to surprise audiences. Venkatesh’s next release is the actioner Saindhav, directed by Sailesh Kolanu, the brain behind the crime thriller franchise Hit.