Rana Daggubati opens up about 'Baahubali 2' and working with Akshay Kumar

Actor Rana Daggubati has revealed the he has put on weight for "Baahubali 2," which is being currently shot in Hyderabad. The actor is also said to have planned to produce a movie with his "Baby" co-star Akshay Kumar.

"Baahubali: The Conclusion," the second instalment in the "Baahubali" series, is currently being shot in Hyderabad. Rana Daggubati is reportedly joining the film unit in May. Now, he is preparing for his role and is busy building his biceps. "I have to put on weight for it. It's a bit stressful to lose and put on weight, but these are all part of my job now," Rana told in an interview to the Deccan Chronicle.

The answer to the question on Kattappa killing Baahubali has created a lot of curiosity about the sequel of "Baahubali." But Rana Daggubati says he was sceptic about the reception of the abrupt end of the prequel. "The film ends all off a sudden with Kattappa killing Baahubali and I was nervous, but it generated more curiosity about Part 2," the actor said.

Rana Daggubati and Bollywood superstar Akshay Kumar had planned to jointly produce a film and this decision was taken during the shooting of their 2015 Hindi movie "Baby." But they could not announce the film for long. The plan is still under consideration and they want co-produce movies in future.

"Pilla Zamindar director Ashok will helm the film, which will also feature a lot of theatre artistes," Rana said. "Actually, it's a Marathi film and Akshay wanted to remake it in Hindi, but somehow it got postponed and together, we decided to produce it in Telugu," the actor added.

Rana Daggubati and Akshay Kumar do not want to restrict themselves to Telugu and Hindi movies. They want to venture into other film industries and encourage new talents. "We will continue to make films in other languages too. We are taking it seriously and want to encourage new talents," he said.