As I was shooting for Baahubali 2 and The Ghazi Attack at almost the same time , my size was the bigger issue . I had to look extremely thick and beefy for Baahubali and I had to look sleek in The Ghazi Attack
Baahubali and I had to look sleek in The Ghazi Attack for I play a naval officer in it . So , shifting between weights was the challenging part because of the constraints of time . I had just four to five weeks each way . I wish I had had a little more time but it wasn ’ t there as the schedules were that way . To drop muscle size is not easy . So , what I did was I deprived myself of proteins for four to five weeks . I finished The Ghazi Attack entirely and then went back to Baahubali 2 for which I again had to put on weight . But yes , it got done very satisfactorily and we are very happy with the result .
Anything that Rajamouli works on ends up being a success . What kind of person is he ?
Rajamouli is a filmmaker who is very sincere to his craft . His command on his craft is really solid and I think he constantly learns and keeps getting better and better at what he does . I think that is what sets him apart . Also , he is a very motivating person .
Your other film , The Ghazi Attack , is also hogging the limelight . Tell us about it .
It is India ’ s first war-at-sea film . It is based on the 1971 incident of PNS Ghazi coming to attack INS Vikrant . Ghazi came to the Eastern Naval Command , which was at Vishakhapatnam at that point . It was taken down and it happened two days before the war on the midnight of December third and fourth , 1971 . December 4th was declared as Indian Navy Day and four days later the Indo- Pak war of 1971 broke out . So , this was one of those incidents that were classified and kept under wraps for a long time . It was an important story to tell as it was a victory for our Navy . There have been many films on the Army and the police but there has not been a film on our Navy , which is the fifth largest in the world . They defend a huge coastline . Our Navy is really big but very few people know about it . So , it was an important story to tell and it came out well as an action thriller . It is a national film , which will be out in Telugu , Hindi and Tamil .
There are several versions of what happened on the night that Ghazi was taken down . Which version has the team stuck to and why did you pick that version ?
One it is based on a book called The Blue Fish , which has been written by the director Sankalp Reddy himself . That forms the first portion and the trail of the film moves from there . After that , what happened is classified and none of us are ever going to know what really happened on it . We have spoken to many persons and there are many versions . Everybody has a version . Even Pakistan has its own version of it . Ultimately , what we have done is we have taken the best parts of all the versions and then stitched it all together based on the inputs that we got . We created fictional characters inside the ship .
Taapsee Pannu is seen in the submarine in a trailer of the film . Does her character figure in any of the actual versions that are there on the taking down of Ghazi ?
In one of the versions , there is a Bangladeshi refugee ship that is burning . It is a merchant ship that is somewhere on the same coast . The details of the survivors are not there . So , Taapsee plays a Bangladeshi refugee . When the Indo-Pak war took place , lots of Bangladeshis took refuge in India and continued living here .
Rana , you are also acting in a Tamil film that is yet to be titled . Tell us amore about it .
“ I have just started this film which tells the story of a soldier during the British rule . It is being directed by Sathya Siva , who directed the hit film Kazhugu in Tamil . The film has Regina , Nasser , Sathyaraj and a large number of British actors in it . We were shooting for this film in Kerala . We shot for a week in Kerala and for another week in Chennai . As of now , we have completed 10-20 per cent of this film .
Speaking of Kerala , what do you like most about it ?
I have always been fond of Kerala . I have been going there for events . In the film , we wanted old British colonial buildings and Cochin has a lot of those . We are trying to create that old Madras in the film . We shot for just a week and the schedule was packed . I had very little time to travel . But I am fond of Kerala food . I haven ’ t spent that much time there and I would love to spend much more . We have another big schedule coming up in Kerala and so yeah , I am looking forward to it .
I have been coming to Kerala for events and shoots . I have always been fond of Kerala
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