Rana Daggubati on pregnant elephant's killing: Haathi Mere Saathi star calls it cruellest act of mankind

Baahubali actor Rana Daggubati, who is waiting to release Haathi Mere Saathi, opened up on the recent killing of a pregnant elephant in Kerala and said that it is probably the cruellest act of mankind.

A pregnant elephant recently passed away after unidentified people fed her pineapple filled with firecrackers. The ghastly incident sparked outrage on social media with many celebs condemning it. Rana Daggubati was one of those celebs and in his Instagram stories, he had mentioned that he was heartbroken over the news.

Rana Daggubati will be seen as a jungle man, who lives with elephants in his upcoming Hindi movie, which is also released in Telugu as Aranya and Kaadan in Tamil. The Baahubali has shot the movie with the real elephants in the forest. He has had first-hand experience with those animals, as he has observed their life in the forest.

In an interview to The New Indian Express, Rana Daggubati spoke about the killing of the pregnant elephant and shared his experience working with elephants in the forest. The Telugu actor said, "Having worked in the jungle for Haathi Mere Saathi, I can say for sure that a forest teaches you many things."

Rana Daggubati added, "It teaches you that creature is important to the planet. As humans, we do the most unnatural things and drive away what's right for the Earth. This incident was probably the cruellest act of mankind. We need awareness, education, and stricter laws in place." 

The actor bulked up for the role of Bhallala Deva in the Baahubali films, whereas he lost a considerable amount of weight to play a jungle dweller in Prabhu Solomon's Haathi Mere Saathi. When asked about his physical transformation, he said that working Aranya was tougher than that of the Baahubali series

Rana Daggubati said, "Cinema is a visual medium. Haathi Mere Saathi is the toughest film I've shot, and this is coming from someone who has shot Baahubali 2. I had to bear the weight of the trunk of an elephant, on my shoulders. The trunk would easily weigh 160-170 kgs. Each of these films allows me to live a new experience. Only cinema can provide this."