Bollywood Vs. South Indian Movies, Baahubali & Entrepreneurship - Rana Daggubati | FO 81 Raj Shamani

I have a eyesight problem so I can't see. really well and after that my organ's. gone off kidney is gone now why South. Indian movies are now like going crazy. just that nobody paid attention to it. till no that's it they were always there. like bahubali was one of the rare films. where people fall in love with villains. I invested in salute which is a gin and. tonic company I was just happy I could. Now find a way to make money of alcohol. if you make 100 bucks. You're Building great employment. business you give jobs to 10 000 people.

you fire five thousand of them what's. the fun in that you want to enter. politics at any time. our today's guest is not just an. entrepreneur but he is a star. usually people know him as from bahubali. but people don't know that he is an. investor an entrepreneur and we talked. about so many things today that. what is there in South Indian movies.

then we spoke about artificial. intelligence we'll chat gpd3 replace all. the jobs in the film industry then we. spoke about how does he make money where. does he invest money what does he look. before investing in any project how does. he make sure that he leads a proper team. and we spoke about success. and his mindset behind creating right. Blockbuster and choosing the right. movies. foreign. talking about Blockbuster Stars I want.

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patriotic movie I get super picture. that that Vibe comes out like do you do. you get that get in that zone as well. while you're doing the movie because as. an audience we all get it I'm sure you. must have heard that from many people. like when the first time people are. watching like they get super into it and. they want the protagonist to just just. win for the nation you're not doing it. for a movie anymore. I mean. everything that you play there's part of. that character becomes who you are and.

if you if you ask me who I am as a. person. all those pieces of those different. characters become is is actually me so. it's not that I influence them they. influence me more than uh. more than what they should actually but. yeah 100 Ghazi was a very very. interesting film to put together it was. uh it's the first submarine movie and uh. it was so hard to convince people for me. to make that film uh because it's in.

Telugu at that point there was there was. no there was action but nobody fights. anybody uh there's no songs in the movie. there was no girl in the movie before. and then uh we had we wrote a role and. Topsy played was kind enough to play a. special appearance so I there was a girl. on a poster and we could make it feel. like a commercial film but uh but yeah. that that was really fun that was really. fun to put together you good I I read. somewhere like you were you shot for 18. days underwater you miss sunlight what.

was that story about so that film was. actually. pretty crazy to shoot because it was all. inside of a submarine and uh they built. about three compartments of a submarine. no four compartments of Submarine one. that was immersed in a swimming pool uh. so it's. it's only a few places where you have. that deep end pool where you can go like. 12 feet 14 feet under the older pools. so they built an entire submarine that. could immerse inside of that pool and.

get out so. all of the days of the shooting were. inside of those places and it was built. under a. uh. an under construction apartment building. because the the swing pool was next to. it okay so that leased the parking lot. and built the submarines there oh was it. challenging for you under what or like. it's just no it's fine it's a lot of. it's a lot of fun you love water yeah I. like water it's a lot of fun are you are. you scared of anything. like let's say water is one of the.

biggest I used to be scared of heights. till I started doing action films and. then after that it just went away I used. to be when I was a kid I used to really. be scared of heights then after that. stunt School in Seattle and then they. just kept dropping you from this is 100. feet drop this is 90 feet drop this is. 40 feet dropping. yeah so what do you what what do you say. scary about Heights like that you'll. fall or like just this idea of looking I. don't know first I I have a eyesight. problem so I can't see really well so. once it's once it's really far there's a.

sense of you don't know what's going on. unpredictably videos like okay what's. going on yeah so that's what it probably. is you're talking about eyesight. something that. I was blown away do not know about you. okay that is. your physical transformations. right you you had an eyesight problem. okay I think the right eye then in 2020. you face the kidney failure yeah right. where 30 it was fatal 70 doctors said.

that you can have a hemorrhage it's a. pretty trippy time if it's like. complicated right. but you like you still had one of the. best bodies in the country like huge. you gotten like pretty bald yolk in fact. right now like dude like you look you're. way taller than whatever. yeah like I got I got scared like for. the moment I was like okay this this guy. is a tall like should I would I be able. to like talk to him in like at the same. level. we're good no but uh yeah I got a bunch.

of problems like that. but uh. I'll tell you what happened there was a. friend of mine who was working in visual. effects at that point he. so he was there when my eye surgery was. done. so I shouldn't laugh at that point right. because everything is like it's all. fixed in you couldn't laugh you. shouldn't I mean you should just have. calm or expressions in that night should. pass so this guy came to see me and he's. like. dude you look like the Terminator I was.

like wow that's probably true and I. think everything that I that I had okay. it was it was uh it was hard at the time. that it happened. but I think overcoming that is is. fun because it makes you another person. and. what doesn't kill you makes you strong. Beast so that's that's where I think all. the energy comes from nice so. do you regret it do you feel bad about.

it have you ever thought of it like. maybe I'm not equal as equal as other. people I have to work harder because of. a few physical challenges no I never. thought that never never I don't know I. think it was I was like um I can do this. never had. no not really you never even thought. about it for a second like maybe now. when when my. the eye time never because I guess I was. young and I was just like yeah how old. were you when I was in uh 11th grade.

okay so it was like you could still rule. the world kind of energy right yeah it's. like it's cool my friend told me I. looked like the Terminator so everything. life is fine you're just making it sound. cool like it's no no sorry when I was. young it was actually cool. I'll tell you why because so I had a. problem called keratoconus okay uh so. what happened is uh your eye from the. side looks spherical like this mine. became conical okay and what they had to. do is they had to cut this top up. replace it with a donor eye so this is.

the process. but months before when that surgery was. going to happen and when they had to. decide so I had a little scar inside of. my eye. the right eyes so which means it's like. tearing the cornea in some ways that. looked so cool and uh so I used to show. after every in school and struggling. that's it so that time it was that but. uh the second round onwards the the. kidney Dam that was a hard one that was. a hard one because.

a I was diagnosed with blood pressure. and uh like extreme and and after that. we had my organs gone off kidneys gone. up. now for me it was like I didn't know. what I what I should do next I was like. should I just be at the desk for some. time just not go to shoot uh so you I. didn't know which career I should follow. the problem is you have many interests. and you have many careers yeah and see. there's a bunch of films that were built.

for a big guy at that point and then I I. lost like I think about 40 kilos or. something before surgery because I had. to yeah uh eat like no salt for a year. and rubbish like that. so at that point was too much thinking. of okay what am I going to do in life. I'm saying should I act in films should. I not act in films and uh. so my my manager at that point I think. uh. Vijay who is the head of collect it he. said you just have to get back to work. like just do something so I didn't want.

to play main lead because I felt like. listen I need it's a lot of energy to do. that it's a lot more responsibility so I. I did films where I was a part of a. story so whether it was bimlanayak in. Telugu with Mr Pawan Kalyan uh that I. did is a is actually a film about cyber. the girl so I'm not the story is not on. me the story is on someone else so I was. produced part producing some so that. became an easier way to get into it and.

then now I can lift like slowly again. again yeah get back to whatever I want. I'm glad you took the villain. like bahubali was I mean I'm sure like. that was by far the in fact one of the. rare films where people fall in love. with villain more than they fall in love. with like the actor or the hero like the. main main protagonist that just shows. how you are as a person oh. okay. no idea but I love playing the bad guy. man uh.

like there's a certain. like for a for the hero of a film or the. protagonist there's a certain beat you. need to take you need to do the right. things you need to be a good guy you. need to fall in love with the correct. way and this rhythm is that but the. minute I played bad it was just mad. energy till the end right and I said wow. this is that was a lot of fun player. like it is it is you know the thing of. Willem for rajmuli who's built the. greatest villains I think is what's. crazy it's amazing right and you know I.

tell you fun fact my new startup name is. behind a villain yeah it is named after. a villain so just because I was not. getting a name and I was like okay I. love villains. Mojo Jojo is like a I was a kid when I. was living here but yeah like that's. nice so probably use what you said like. you see yourself as that yeah see there. you go so I was asking like do you feel. that you want to be really. like relevant and. like do something which stays very very.

long like do you think about Legacy. shell increasing your shelf life because. as an artist the shelf life is super low. for a lot of people like you do some. projects and then you have forgotten. so do you constantly think about it that. you want to be remembered for long I. have a very strange approach to these. things. uh. when I was. about 30 years old. about maybe 30 to 33 years old I was I. started working and running a company. that was about 50 years old okay and.

then I invested another company that was. another 50 or 60 years old. uh one being Suresh Productions which is. my parent company and uh the other is. and to me those legacies were so big and. the idea of permanency like the fact. that you can do something and it can. stay forever right. he's always been the agenda of anything. that I've put together whether it's a. film whether it's a show whether it's a.

product whether it's a company whatever. it is it's the idea of permanency it's. it's a hard idea to fight with yeah uh. but I like that because. I feel like life is life is long and. there's uh you like the idea yeah I like. the idea of permanency and. and the fact that you're able to hold. history hold values for so long along. with a lot of people I think that's uh. that's very rare but I think that's. important so do you do you think about.

like. one day let's say in 2030 or 20 40 or. 2050 Rana is equals to this what does. Rana look like or like an ideal branding. it's like I'll just give an example the. way we think about. Shahrukh Khan today right it's become. synonyms with love. do you think that you want to be. synonymized with something or what's the. like how do you want to be remembered. have you ever thought of it no I really. didn't think of how I want to be. remembered but everything that I do I'd.

like to look back at and say wow this is. fun so uh if you. whether it's my filmography of films. everything will be different from one. another whether it's the. work that I do apart from films all of. that still has to be uh fun fun and it. needs to do something to people no I'm. saying the why is very important for me. why am I doing this film why am I. building this business.

why to me I have to be able to convince. myself well okay okay and why so let's. ask you are so many interests I want to. know the why behind like two three four. things to understand you better sure. okay and you recent you recently. acquired right that's like the language. sorry sorry so you invested in it and uh. that's like a legacy old business yes. what were you thinking like would you. turn around it because it it was a dying.

business at one point yeah uh see one is. storytelling Never Dies uh whether and. especially in a country like India the. stories that are told to us today are. things that overly came for like five. thousand ten thousand or more years. right. and. in in cinema in the black and white era. a lot of that have been captured where. people made stories on mythology people. made stories on folklore there was a lot. of Indian values that were instilled in.

those stories that had but had scale and. had great entertainment. but in the in the modern era we didn't. know really how to get these films. together till baahubali really happened. yeah so then we knew that okay now we. can tell stories at scale uh and what is. wonderful about it is we're not bound by. Industries if we tell those stories. a story of India becomes a story of. India it's uh a king in India as a king. for everybody uh a warrior in India is a.

warrior for everybody it doesn't matter. which part of the land he comes from. yeah and. to me I had said I said how do we be. able to build this in scale and to me. was the only place that. held all these stories. to a captive audience and and I can. speak for many people my age slightly. younger and older older definitely a lot. more. who the English-speaking India Today. understands Indian mythology because of.

Amar chitrakatha mostly yeah right and. they owned a period of time uh through. comic books when Uncle Pai built that. out so I think today with film with the. fact that. we are able to do large-scale Cinema and. entertain them at the same time instill. values of what India really is and I. think that's what is so when you invest. in something like this as a business. okay I get the why.

that you want to bring those stories out. so you invest in them and value them on. the basis of the story and how big that. story can become or do you value on the. management or do you value on the. potential from their like potential of. the other stakeholders to recreate those. stories like what do you value in terms. of purely in the business sense it's. like the access to the old stories which. were already big. see one okay it's a multiple question. set yeah each time you're looking not.

for the same thing each time you're. looking for different things okay uh I'm. not a Serial investor I'm not a venture. capital guy or none of those things uh. I'm a Storyteller and I need to find. businesses or Technologies you know in. order to tell stories and films better. so the approach will be uh very very. different and but what you said first is. actually the first right thing where am. I able to build a story forever with. this company. that's to me the most important uh part.

of it after that is the people right. yeah it's how many people can buy into. this vision. is a vision that I know many people will. bind. whether it's storytellers because of the. influence that it had whether it's on. filmmakers today whether it's on. historians whether it's on artists. whatever that is so that relevance will. always stay so I know it's a place that. I can bring great people together hmm.

okay so that's that's. but I I beg to differ when you said like. I'm not a I'm not an investor. yeah you're out of need like I was doing. research on you in fact before we even. finalize that we want to do this and. we're trying to convince you I went on. to do like a lot of research and I found. out that you are not just an actor like. you have a VFX Studio you have talent. management you are into sports you own a.

sports franchisee and then. you're an investor as well with the VC. company right like you're a partner I. think the other VC company and Hill. right and then you have a production. house like you have multiple things yeah. so coming to. you talked about the family Dynamics. okay. what was the experience. growing up with them. did you ever face that the creative. process of two generations are not.

matching did you ever like had fights. because the way we progress or the way. we grow the kind of content we consume. is very different than the generations. older right in fact there are certain. points where like there are certain. things my my dad doesn't understand. and I have to spend like weeks with him. to just give him the central idea of. okay this is. so Warrior were your parents Progressive. and acceptable of the ideas which you. had or you had some troubles see one is. my family believes in a very independent.

Spirit of living right it's my granddad. never forced my dad to do a certain. thing my dad never forced me to do. anything everybody became individuals of. who they are and what they are best at. uh but yeah I mean there will be. many times we won't agree on the same. thing uh whether it's in the creative. process whether it's in a business. process there's many things that have. changed over time but the beauty is. because they're entrepreneurs themselves.

they are consistently understand that. change is constant uh their learning. process is extremely fast. so it's it's pretty amazing how. what they. didn't know a year ago the way they. adapt to it because they want to be so. relevant and so current in what they do. uh especially my dad I think it just. blows my mind I was like how do you know. this man uh and and it also helps that.

my dad then is much more educated than I. am uh okay he's a mechanical engineer. from Michigan Ann Arbor sweet and I'm a. guy who discontinued become a college in. Hyderabad. so just his. academic Brilliance gets him to learn. you know a lot more than I do still. why did you drop off why did you do that. bro I don't know man I couldn't study. when I was young I don't know something. just didn't work for me no yeah I was I.

was I was pretty terrible in. was it because you got to know your. strengths early on that I'm good at. let's say VFX or building businesses or. something like I'm not like I knew that. I just knew what this I couldn't do. like it was it was strange like in. school I was I was extremely good with. languages I was good with English I was. good with Telugu I was I loved history. uh then I watched like every movie that. ever released in every language I think. at that point in Hyderabad and I.

I used to have a lot of interest when I. was younger but Math and Science and all. of that just didn't land it just didn't. land. so. interesting because I have a similar. thing because I dropped out of college. as well and and it was BB it's a b com. BB is kind of same thing and the but. like and my reason was the same because. I found out that I want to pursue. speaking for the rest of my life so I. joined un at that time and I represented. India there that's amazing so but I did.

it because I thought like there's a. backup. for you like did you know that so no so. I'll tell you when I took the choice of. leaving College which there was this so. I used to keep I'm born in Chennai so uh. and I used to keep going back there even. after I moved to Hyderabad. so there there was a. insta photography Institute it's called. The Institute of imaging technology okay. now. they had a program for uh photography. which was broken down and you didn't. have to pass college or you didn't.

didn't need a degree really okay uh to. be in that and it's it's mostly. professionals or semi-professionals that. come there and train. I was like okay listen if I can figure. out a way to get into this it's. education it's stuff that I like and uh. that'll be an interesting way to. convince my parents that listen I'm not. going to do this. my mom flipped when I was going to study. frog which is like what are you going to. do take marriage photos like this that's. just went mad uh but my dad somewhere I.

think caught it and said okay he's not. studying anyways it's better that he. does something else yeah and then that. changed my life completely man when I. went to Chennai the fun part was I was. I was like I think what. what how old are you and become like 20. yeah like 19 19 20 or something yeah. maybe a neck 19 or something. and the next guy in class was about 20. years older than me or 15 years older. than I was in a photography yeah so it.

was it was like professionals that were. learning photography so there was I. remember there was a reporter from BBC. who was training himself to be a. photographer so it's another upscale for. him so it was all people like that uh. and so I got to hang out with a. different group altogether. then what I did was so the first program. I did was industrial photography the SEC. I continued doing another program there. which was photo lab management okay so. uh they teach you how to manage photo.

studios So Pro and at film at that point. so that's something that I understood. well and uh. then we had a film laboratory in. Hyderabad so it also made sense to my. dad that these guys learning something. that he might be of use to later so that. that's where I moved out but you ever. thought just asking from because I also. think about this a lot. do you ever get this feeling like this. feeling that maybe you would have gone.

to college and had fun not for the part. of studying because when I see like like. movies like High School Musical or like. like you know like. American college movies like the ideal. American dream movies I feel like. man and this is one thing I missed in my. life I never had a college life huh. because you don't have friends you don't. go partying a lot. like you know things I did all of that. without College. I partied a hell of a lot uh and and.

what happens is when when you start. making money when you're like 23 24. years old and uh. it's it's money that it's not like I'm. and I was lucky enough I didn't have to. look after my parents or anything. they're well sorted so it was all my. money and your lifestyle becomes really. extravagant uh so I think all of that. college stuff happened for me in a. different manner. I know I can't get there why worry about. it but. during my business years is when I.

really wish that I just understood or. studied a little more so I just keep now. doing. management development programs I went. like two or once or twice to I am I did. one in ISB all right so otherwise it's. just hard man everybody else is so much. more educated uh in in that realm uh and. I'm a Storyteller for me to kind of. getting him there was a lot of learning. we will get a business part okay like. that's the exciting part I have just. like one two last questions on the.

creative and the personal life part. right so. he said when you're 22 23 or 24 like. under 25 when you make money and it's. your money and you don't have any. responsibility you get extravagant with. your lifestyle okay tell me one thing. that you feel that I should have not. spent on and one thing that you feel. like. thank God I spent on this so it's like. this when like I think I'm from a little. different age than what today is 21 year.

old is okay and I think today's. generation is so much smarter than what. I was the fact that they understand. investing so well they understand. growing Capital so well. sorry. the fact that. to me I didn't I wasn't smart enough to. do that at that point uh that's. something I feel bad about that you you. think that you just you should have. started investing at the age of 21 yeah. I think I should have because it's it's.

as much fun you understand a lot more. you. uh. I'll tell you a fun fun thing that. I really enjoyed so. after I came back uh from the hospital. in America so I was like okay now I was. coming back I wasn't shooting for a. while I was still on desk and I started. investing in in uh. I started looking at investing in. alcohol Brands okay and I invested in. one called salute which is gin and tonic. company and I was just happy I could Now.

find a way to make money of alcohol. okay now let me take this like this okay. my 20s to my 30s I just blew up on a. bunch of things let's see if I can make. money back and the things that I blew up. so that's nice that was the direction I. took. it's a good way to recoup your money. back years later. I'm gonna think about all the things. I've spent money on. so it just feels like you didn't lose. after a point you're like okay you.

enjoyed it but then you're like damn I. could invest it in the stock it could. have become something else and what do. you what do you feel that thank God I. spent on this. I regret nothing man I regret nothing I. mean the. that Madness that I had gave me an. exposure to a world that very very few. people have the opportunity of seeing. and I think everything that I do today. is because of the fact that I was. exploring what do you mean by exploding.

give me one one story like something. that you explored and you feel like damn. thank God I spent on this particular. experience is there anything see I'm. saying whether it's theme parks whether. it's music festivals. everything across shows you a culture. and lifestyle that uh you want to a. hundred percent build or be part in some. ways right and I think. all anything that was experiential uh is. is definitely worth spending on when. you're when you're young it doesn't. matter if it's really expensive if you.

can afford it just go and do it because. that's going to change your life forever. 100 I damn I believe in it in this so. much because music festivals have shaped. me the kind of person I it made me talk. to so many people gave me confidence. made me a better conversation like just. yeah it just goes on I mean it's the. fact that there's. thousands and thousands of people that. are just free of energy yeah it doesn't. matter how much money you got doesn't. matter what you look like doesn't matter. what clothes you're wearing you're just.

all together with music and energy I. think that's that changes you as a. person for sure so which which one is. your favorite music festival my favorite. it's commercial cell but Tomorrowland I. loved it nice have you been to EDC. electric DC Carnival Las Vegas no no not. yet no I've like no I've been to ultra. in Miami Ultra yeah so and all started. with sunburn and go although. the many sunburns same same thing you. learn I've not made it Tomorrowland yet.

but uh like I've been to Untold Festival. in Romania that's so nice like that's. that's what they say like huh that's. like similar to them all and the same. lineup everything same just like those. so it's great so people say that EDC is. better than Tomorrowland so you better. check out next thing all right that's. the EDC it is. but the good thing is I the fact that I. do it then and uh. now after see like I'll tell you why. like you spoke about my health thing a. little while ago.

if that didn't happen I would have been. a divorced guy even now so it's I'm. happy that there was a phase in my life. that I did an extreme yeah and now. you're not allowed to do it so you're. like wow what a clean guy you are and. it's a clean dry energy uh like there's. one thing that I told a friend of mine. when uh I stayed in the U.S after. surgery. every time I used to go to the us. earlier I used to spend so much money. and it used to cost a lot I was like wow. if you don't party if you don't drink if. you don't do all of this stuff it's it's. so simple living I said I love this.

so yeah so I'm enjoying a different diet. now nice did you. did you meet your partner in festivals. or like something like that how did that. uh. in the pandemic actually. in the band or tell me about the story. then we were the all your little love. story. uh my how do I put this so like I've. always known her all my life I've known. Mika because she was my sister's friend.

we've known each other and we were never. friends or one. and I guess the pandemic we connected we. started talking and we're like okay this. works. and that's it that's how simple and. simple and easy it was there was no like. there was no like fairy tale. it's me kind of story see I'm saying. it's it's fairy tale when there's an. energy that comes together. I mean that's that's more fairy tale. than anything for me what what was it do. you have that striking button like like.

was that yeah I'm an extremely Instinct. type guy Vibe yeah and then yeah yeah. and then I'm saying lifeless Journey. you've got to figure it out there'll be. good things there'll be bad things but. uh we want to do it together we can do. it together nice is that something which. you'd absolutely love about her like I. mean they're obviously they're like so. many things but what is. I just feel she's. the the balance of everything right like. only after I got married I realized how.

whack my life was I was like this. is how I lived so I think if not for her. there was there wouldn't be a balance of. anything here so you are an extremist. yeah I am an extremist I am uh. it's that that boho spirit that I have I. can just be everywhere I don't I need. something to hold me and say here this. is home so nice so yes so there was an. article I was reading from I asked this.

question specifically so there's an. article I'm reading from Georgia Tech so. they say if you want to know about a. person. find out what their partner what do they. like about their partner and that will. tell you a lot about the the person. because if you like like the balance of. your of your partner a lot that means. you're an extremist because that's what. you feel like so yeah that's probably. right what you read that's right yeah. you know there's and then. it's so such an easy thing they asked.

they said. they don't ask you anything they just. say are you a boat or an anchor. just that's a question for you just. think about them there's no logic are. you a border. I think I'm a boat man see there you go. yeah so that's what the article said. like you know what when you ask that. question I wanted to be the anchor I was. like no but I've not. everyone close to you around you would. be an anchor.

possible because you're the one you're. the wild one you're the Explorer you. want to go out probably and The Anchor. Holds you still together for sure for. sure right and if you were the anger. everyone around you would be the bird. interesting so that to me that article. is so fascinating send it send it to me. you liked it yeah perfect okay talking. about. something you said earlier I love that. he said you want to make more money than. your dad right that's one of my advice. like for real I want to do that and and.

the competition is only in my head my. dad wants me to make more money than him. yeah exactly it's uh but I think that's. the drive no it's uh yeah it's awesome. that we have dads who we can look up to. and yeah so here you go this is what you. want to get yeah absolutely so tell me. what out of like 100 things which you do. do you feel has the potential to help. you make way more money than anything. else. is it the studios is it the uh comic.

producers the VC firm it is the sports. management the Hyderabad FC or no to me. uh. and the studio that we'll put together. with it I think is it will probably be. the biggest dream that can be achieved. do you think that that is a potential to. become like a unicorn like a billion. dollar company. see I'll tell you. I heard this somewhere and I don't know. who said it but uh.

what's a unicorn. what's a unicorn something that's valued. I know 8 000 no it's a mythical creature. that you do not see. okay uh today there is a sense of. business where. to make one rupee you spend about 500. bucks and those are the bigger. businesses today right uh which will. which are great for some people they. change the way of life they've built.

some great businesses but. I don't value myself in that direction. at all to me. can this company be relevant for the. next hundred years whether we're there. or not. that becomes valuable for me that's. extreme value. like look at Disney as a company Walt. Disney has gone a long time ago. but today it's the most relevant brand. that will cut across every segment right. and I think that's that's value to be.

built so to me I'm I'm going to bet on. fewer horses what I'll try to make each. one last. interesting it's of two points one a. contradictory to what you said and. second in alignment of what you want to. say first is. I think every business. gets built by spending in the beginning. way more than they own. like look at the infrastructure look at. the movie business like it's just you.

get money from different sources put it. in one in a hope that one day it will. give me more than what I'm spending. today right now it's getting it's crazy. the multiples are crazy but this is how. every business gets built see but money. is not the first thing that you require. in business. if you're building an entertainment. business if you're building a. storytelling company building a film. company. you need to have stories to tell yeah. and that happen sitting and writing and. that costs nothing it's your mind it's.

your energy so there's there's many. businesses that require very little or. no Capital it requires the ability of. thinking and creating a service or a. product that can work in after a certain. scale then it's then see I'm saying the. business should drive the finances the. finance shouldn't drive the business and. everyday activity so I think that's. sustainable that's sustainable that's. consistently building value that can. create employment that you can hold see.

if you're a company that's that's now. what for 350 400 across different. Partnerships in group companies we. didn't have to fire anybody during the. pandemic we didn't have to do anything. why because if we had enough reserves to. hold this company for X number of years. right and that only gets built if you're. if you're building a successful business. if I'm trying to raise then again and I. have to cut half of them fire half the. company I mean you see that layoffs in. every industry right and every industry.

that that's taken to extreme scale. without the business that's governing it. yeah so then what happens you you're. You're Building great employment. business you give jobs to 10 000 people. you fire five thousand of them after. that then was what's the fun in that. well I I like that point where he said. the business should drive the finance. not the finance not the other way around. that's it's interesting what do you. value the most in business is it. customer obsession is it employee. obsession is it.

idea or like the. I give you examples of all three. Steve Jobs was product oriented he. didn't care about anything else he was. like obsessed Jeff bezol is customer. obsessive like he didn't care about. himself and Richard Branson the Virgin. Atlantic guy he's obsessed with his. employees he feels like if if I make the. best place I'd give best things to my. employees they'll build the business. I'm in a world where it's a combination. of things because the jobs that I do are.

extremely collaborative jobs yeah and to. me. the creators and the people that are. creating it become the most important. people first because without them. there's nothing uh there is no customer. there is nothing without the idea of. artists and writers and technicians. coming together I think that's that's. for me the first key of everything uh. then it becomes the audience that we're. trying to satisfy yeah uh we're trying.

to touch an emotional chord by telling a. story why in in a process we're trying. to give you information we're trying to. give you values we are trying to. entertain you so I think. It's a combination of things that it. that would drive me. just being obsessed with one I don't. know if that will drive. I don't know if I'm in that position. right now where you could choose shoes. and I can just be so it's like this like. me. if I can just continue just acting. non-stop in films.

I'll make more money than most of the. businesses. because it costs it doesn't cost me I. don't have to raise money to run this. ship yeah if I shoot for 300 days I will. make more money than a bunch of. businesses that I'm running right now. but that's just me alone. art doesn't build value doesn't it's. it's value for me but I'm not able to. distribute that value across people oh. interesting I want to know what's the. percentage. you earn let's say give me let's say if. you if you make 100 bucks 50 does it.

come from acting 30 does it go from. acting like what is like what's. there's every year changes dude this. year telling this here if if there's any. this year any pattern you've recognized. the actings become lesser because I'm. shooting lesser stuff okay I've just. been doing one show with Netflix for the. last year and a half uh so that would be. like 10 of your 20 30 of that I'd give. it a. 30 to me being the artist okay 30 to 40.

and the rest is my businesses the rest. is your businesses all right that's a. that's a great mix for a person who's. artist first I'll tell you why it also. happened because of the pandemic because. I was scared I couldn't be an artist. anymore like there was a time where I. genuinely thought it will be very. difficult for me to get up and shoot and. uh I after this after the kidney. transplant it will become a very. difficult process to do action all those.

in every script that I was going to ask. like dude I can't do this like it was. that came first so. life went into just building businesses. and making sure that. nice everything else is supposed. pandemic Rana is way different than for. sure man for sure because it teaches too. many things I mean and it's funny that. all of this came together. I just felt like I was in the pandemic a. little before everybody because I was in. hospital for a while I was like okay now. everyone's getting similar problem it's.

okay I can run this. nice and how do you spend your money how. do I spend my money just like investing. in fun new things man that's out of 100. you yeah I get broke doing that most. times. them see because what happens is. investing is money and value unless you. sell it it's not is there money that you. have so uh it happened to me a bunch of. times I I want to know more so I mean. it's like this right see you're excited.

about uh. a new idea a new idea or a new tech. that's built uh now you feel like that's. going to change the world in the next. five or seven years. now how do you cough up money for that. no I got I act in films I do. endorsements I do some live stuff uh I. can't pull out from other businesses. because they're growing businesses. they're profitable but they're. profitable for themselves uh it's those. part it's a different economy uh or an. ecosystem that's getting this money in. the pool so then it goes into me just.

going Non-Stop and shooting stuff and. I'm like here you go this will take care. of is that something that you. that you keep. spending on or investing on and you feel. like this will one day be my game. a lot in mediatek is where my. investments have gone uh where. whether it is in content creation. whether it's. acquiring IP okay whether it's in uh.

blockchain syndication technologies that. can either get my business done better. or make my filmmaking better so these. are these are businesses that I'm. consistently investing in because it's. also a very small pool in the country. that you have this from right there have. been times that we've invested in. companies and put those like two. companies together because because you. need a lot of uh resource resource pool. to build that. see unlike the west where.

the I.T sector and the entertainment. sector just going together as one here. everyone's really different right the. the it in that City doesn't talk to the. entertainment World in that City it's. just strange like that so for me it's. building those bridges are quite. important for a long lasting business so. you want to build that infrastructure of. Media Tech together yeah that's. interesting thought so what same thing. that's how the rest of the world got to. scale right. um no entertainment company in India is.

really a strong tech company yeah right. now but look at any entertaining company. in the west they'll have technologies. that that puts everybody to shame here. so that's uh so how do we build that. it's not. if you want to go and. work with the people in the west they're. all companies that are at large scales. they are since some form unicorns like. you said themselves and it's hard for us. to now try to catch that bandwagon yeah. so it's either we built it from scratch.

we find Founders together so I mean that. that takes up a lot of my money there. was a rumor okay and rumor I don't. understand there's a company called icon. yeah and Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates have. invested in it no I mean they've. invested in a fund called Woodstock and. that Woodstock one invested oh okay. okay I was like. like that's mad huge dog the phone that. they're awesome okay so as an angel you. were able to. find a deal which was like super hot.

take. for the ogs of the world as well how do. you find these people how do you find. these these because so my first deal so. uh was is through Anthem Antelope is uh. rental studio is a company that we built. along with title Ventures that's been. around in. across verticals uh for a while now so. we try to concentrate and start building. a mediatek accelerator uh Media Tech. then everything that entertainment can.

support uh whether it's with Talent. whether it's with content whether it's. whatever that is so mediatek came first. and then we moved into consumer brand. and all of them coming just as a. national fit. interesting okay you you talked about. something Walt Disney okay and it's I. have a I'm a big believer the examples. you take are the examples you aspire. right so do you think that Walt Disney. is something that you want to do like.

the Disney World is something I want to. do with that it's. see what is what are Disney and the. characters they're made of they're. fictional characters there's some from. public domain uh. but here the characters are gods. they're worshiped their temples. uh. their. loved and revered in a much much. different manner. so I just feel.

as a business yes it's a Disney would be. a great example for what we're trying to. do together do with it but I think India. will. build you something else out it just. won't be this. what would what would India build you or. like see because the storytelling. just outdates everything yeah everything. that mankind knows these stories. outdated and if they could last the test. of time till now and there they will. continue to last because now there is.

more and more relevance to knowing these. stories to being understood. no. the. whether it's The Narrative of the. country whether it's Narrative of the. people they want to know who they are. they want to know their localness they. want to know their mythologies they want. to know their gods and this is a very. different way it's not Mickey Mouse or. Donald Duck right so it's a I think. India will and this mythology. has somewhere disconnected from the.

Southeast Asian world now if you go to. Thailand uh you will see the influence. that that mythology the Hindu mythology. had at that point uh if you go to. Cambodia any of these places. but today we don't know what that bridge. was yeah just because nobody sat and. told that history. but I'm saying the gods went how did. those stories go what is it so I think. all of that has a it's there's a certain. Global appeal to these stories Way.

Beyond being Indian see because the. India then was a very different. integrity yeah yeah you know there was a. there's a. game theory around this that. all the Marvel characters are inspired. by mythology. I mean there's clearly the store. yeah yeah but I'm saying anybody writing. any superhero will be inspired by. mythology there's no other way that you.

will write it. uh right and. because it's. it's telling believable things in an. unbelievable Manner and those are. stories that you want to hear and. they've been they've been coming for. centuries now and anybody who is writing. in that direction if they're not. inspired by mythology it's stupid. so so wherever it is I'm saying whether. it's a Marvel character whether it's a. character of a regular hero today. everything will have a reference of. Mythology true because and these stories.

have already been told. we're just polishing them and telling. them in another way in a different way. do you see do you see building superhero. movies stuff like that for sure for sure. man for sure for sure what excites you. the most like what kind of superhero. excites you the most what kind of. superhero or like which is your favorite. superhero movie like just let's just put. it that's my bad judgment. I like Thanos in The Avengers.

uh. what is. what's my favorite I think the first. Iron Man would be my favorite. uh Black Panther after oh nice uh. but beating all of this would be the. Dark Knight. for sure like it'll just blow these guys. yeah anyway Dark Knight is is probably.

the top superhero film that. that I've enjoyed watching like multiple. times I have an interesting question on. this because again this is like a you. ask people what are the superheroes and. it tells a lot about the personality. okay. what. what would you choose. between three power fame money. between power fame money. or if I have to choose between power. Fame and money.

money only maybe. why just logical no. don't you feel like if you have power. you can make money anyway or like power. overrules money sometimes no I mean it's. different right I mean what do you want. to insane I'm not a guy who wants to. insert power. I can influence by the good things that. I do anyways and the businesses that I.

run will make money so I think that's an. easier one to do and to me the job that. I have will get me famous and. clearly so. interesting because you chose Iron Man. and Dark Knight both of them are like. super rich people. okay maybe I guess right the villain. Theory works here as well like the one. you choose is. I told you I'm a bunch of characters.

that I've played fair fair okay they're. coming to the movie path okay I love I. love. parallel and you said India is evolving. and stories outdate everything right now. there's a rage that South Indian movies. are getting accepted at a larger scale. than the mainstream Bollywood media. right why do you feel it's the reason. like why South Indian movies are now. like it's just that going crazy just. that nobody paid attention to it till no. that's it they were always there.

okay and just that there is now. information is broken the internet is. broken uh television first did that. first set of buying content from the. south uh where. South India I guess all of the. industries are much more connected to. Indian roots and Indian ethos in in. their storytelling whereas. the Bombay industry or Mumbai industry. was. there was a certain India one type of.

approach where there was a certain what. was extremely modern what was new what. was culture modern culture that that. adaptation is very very good. like you will see many like you'll never. see a Kapoor and Sons kind of film. happening in Telugu. because it's culture that very few. people understand so. uh so that you got an overload of that I. guess in some ways and people always. want variety yeah and and now I think.

it's the time where. we all actually understand India better. than what we used to yeah uh there is. so I have I have a bunch of friends who. live in South Bombay. they're pretty amazing they uh so. they're only watching the films they. watch like French movies and like some. extreme off-beat stuff they started. watching Malayalam films after the. pandemic so I was like okay wow no I'm. saying that's cutting culture in a. different manner because it's still. Slice of Life it's still the way that.

probably friend Cinema has made or other. Cinema that these people enjoy but. they're enjoying it because it's a leaf. of India yeah and that's sin and art. always connected see it's politics that. will divide You by state or from this. state or from the state but that always. will bring you together. so I think Cinema has been a great tool. in uniting Us in UV also the reason is. Bollywood was a lot about aspiration and. like the South Indian movies were a lot.

about relatability and authenticity or. like. it had less aspiration value more. connecting value it's like it you see. that there was an immediate win there. like. if I want to be ideal I could be that. I don't know see I'm saying you can't. categorize films like that because see. one there in India there are about 2 000. filmmates every year they're 2000 films. so the plot stories and what defines. each of them is very very different uh. you will.

you ncn what is India it's unity and. diversity correct now that's what Cinema. is it's extremely diverse and it. constantly needs to be that for people. to be engaged so that's the reflection. of who you are film is like a mirror to. society in some ways. like if the films in Bombay aren't. working it's it's also the reflection of. what the society is thinking and being. about right it's that's a word true you. know I also feel like there's I was just.

having a conversation with one of my. friends about this. that what you said was right that the. movies were always there nobody just. paid attention like now people are I. think people paid a lot of attention but. they were getting all of that on Set Max. and stuff like I remember watching. growing up watching nagarjuna like the. mask the mask. one man army like in Hindi dubbed. yeah Don number one Surya or all of that.

right like that was. so we all used to watch that and we used. to love that now just that that's. happening on big screen as well yes. that's so because we're always getting. that on TV yeah so it's I mean it had. one audience that it captured now it. just crossed over and. is that like bahubali played like an. important role in that. I mean see there was all like you said. there was always things on Set Max and. others that you were watching Star Gold. and constant dubs I think so there was.

some certain acceptance and baahubali. just came on top of all of that and just. made it normal see it it became that. first Indian film moment right and the. fact that if entire India wakes up to. watch a film this is what happens that. moment happened for the first time uh so. I think. it it played a lot in terms of bringing. this together the fact that post that. there was a kgf they were kantara there. were many more films that are now being. accepted in an within india-wide.

audience there's Triple R that's. globally accepted so you will see more. and more of this Cinema happening. so tell me like three things which you. feel Bollywood should learn from South. Indian movies so that's it's a very hard. way it's filmmaker to filmmaker it's. artist to artist it's story to story. it's hard to say what one needs to learn. from the other uh. but let's just think like tell me one. thing which you feel Bollywood is. missing and tell me one thing which you.

feel South Indian movies should learn. from Bollywood. like let's play both the tools see there. is a certain industrialization that. the Bollywood industry had created uh. which. in the south is is slowly happening now. where the fact that they were exposed to. a lot to larger corporations to. International. entertainment companies far more than. the South Indian industries were like. the the head office of a of a Disney odd. star or uh or any of or Netflix or all.

of it starts in Bombay it doesn't start. the other places right so there's a. certain understanding of of business and. organization in a. in a manner that's more Global I'd say. uh but what what they can they can pick. from South India is. the fact that. uh all storytellers come from a leaf of. culture and they're trying to tell that. culture so here.

I just feel that variety is missing. like for example if you take. two top. writers directors in Telugu say. sukumarantra Vikram two very very. prolific filmmakers. they're not from Hyderabad City. they're ones from bhimavaram the others. from rajul they're from two different. Villages I think but they brought a leaf. of that society that culture that they. know to cinema. uh all of us Converse we speak only in.

Telugu we don't speak in English. actually uh speaking English and I guess. a little bit in the office. like the Tamil filmmakers will speak. only in Tamil it's just it's easier when. you say here it's a much more English. driven culture driven Society. and and the fact that we don't make. English films I feel like we should also. I think I I just strongly feel Bombay. should take that front forward. because you can own English India oh for.

sure I mean we have more people speaking. English in this country than the United. States it's the UK or whatever that is. right yeah like the India is the India. is the biggest country who has the. maximum number of English speakers yes. there you go so I mean why are we not. make English films. that's a good take so I just feel like. Bombay can't really drive that and then. it it worked many times I mean there was. a film called Delhi belly that came out. yeah many years ago that was phenomenal. it did really well in the box office. nice are you so in in borderline it's. like.

Southern movie should understand the. distribution Dynamics on a global level. with from Bollywood yeah enterprising. enterprising like how do you make more. IPS more Global like distribution like. all of that connect with more like. larger corporations around the world and. Bollywood should take think about how do. you take forward and like experiment. with more stuff The Way South India is. doing I mean just get how do you bring. more culture into you. more relatable culture into storytelling. relatable culture that's how that's a.

good see it's there's one thing that uh. well could. he's a mentor of mine now partner in. some in some businesses Mr Kishore. biyani of universe yeah. he's he taught me one thing because I. mean their retail minds are very very. different they understand in a very. different manner than we do. so you told me something about. he divided India into India won India to. India three in some ways and.

India one he said was everyone who had. domestic help is India one okay and. India too so for every one India one. there's about four in the two. whether it's your cook whether it's your. driver whether it's people supporting. your lifestyle so unless Cinema is. understood by all. uh and sometimes India three is people. below the poverty line uh it's people. the government works for its all of. those.

but that is relatable culture that's how. big India is. now you when you're a filmmaker you'll. or when you're talking normally you will. only talk about the people you know. the friends you live with or the family. you live with or the society that's. around you you never look at India in a. in a manner that it's much larger yeah. and you need to like every 10 kilometers. or 15 kilometers there'll be a different. culture in thought we can walk down this. street and your ideology or mine would.

be a minimum so you know on that added. question yeah because as a consumer. business owner and like someone who's. building startups in that as well I I. question myself this a lot. so for you it will be relevant. you were let's say born in India one. family you are born and brought up and. you walk around your friends around that. right how do you understand India too. then because you the people around you.

the place you're born in the place. people you hang out with right it's. always like India one how do you. understand India 2 into three because if. you in order to make them accept you you. need to understand that you have to make. an effort. and a conscious effort. of having conversations. of. treating people equally see I think the. somewhere the film set does that. because everybody is equal on a film set.

because you need everyone to work in one. Rhythm whether it's 300 people 100. people needs to work in a rhythm to get. that one shot right so there is a sense. of we all of us eat together everyone. need drinks together like all of that is. is somewhere leveling right and I think. that's what got us to understand it a. lot more and the thing about the. entertainment businesses is. you can be an MBA from the top.

university you can be a filmmaker. you can be somebody who's never seen a. city lived in a. in a town like madurai grown up on that. culture and Cinema you can still be a. director. so it's an equal playground because. everyone's bringing different cultures. different thoughts into it. I guess that's why film people. understand a little more and because we. are we're trying to tell our story to. India one two three we want everybody to. like the story right that's that's how.

popular Cinema goes so you need to make. conscious effort to talk to everyone on. the set to understand everybody's. mindset in order to build like I mean no. not just everybody on set right I'm. saying everybody in your daily life how. much conversation do you have with your. driver how much conversation do you have. with your cook. you how much do you know about their. lives how much do you know about their. families how much do you know about how. they live how much do you know about the. conditions that.

that they've moved from for from a. village to a certain place what is the. dream that they have so we never you. won't take that time to do it because. you're so busy in your everyday life so. unless that is me a conscious effort. with that is made is it it is no way. you'll understand it interesting so do. you feel that. South Indian movies that's what make. them super exciting because they. understand this. in a much deeper way.

or like give me like what do you think. like what makes South Indian movie Super. exciting. uh see one is there's I mean when you. say South India first with four. different Industries yeah I know I know. and everybody makes very different films. uh different styles whether you work in. Telugu and Tamil I work in Telugu most. yeah uh Tamil a little bit yes. see Telugu you. will we like big things we always Aspire. Big Stuff uh you will see the most. expensive films being experimented and.

made there at a very mainstream level uh. you will see. extreme risks being taken all of these. like all of whether it's a bahubali or a. triple R all of these big films are not. corporate funded they're all like. individual producers borrowing money and. putting that money into it putting their. house putting the that's the energy so. they go all in all in to make something. spectacular. now there is Malayalam that has such a. slice of life with a different cultural.

understanding great stories and I think. they probably have uh they're probably. the best set of writers and uh uh that. that have come in this this time. uh kannada now with. uh with kgf with khanthara has taken a. fully different that's now it's in the. South Indian Industries it was always. lesser known for some for some reason. but now it's really taken a Forefront. and together it's such a diverse place. and the beauty is each of those.

Industries understand each other. see here there's so many North Indian. languages but it's all one here in some. ways right yeah see that I'm sure there. is a different culture in Punjab uh. there's a different culture if you want. to make a bhojpuri from a different. culture if you want to make a Marathi. film those cultures all have to start. talking to one another start being. respected start being treated as. independent Industries that's when. you'll see it grow nice I love this. answer I love. I.

of my understanding to this limited but. I can truly feel this that the. understanding of all four Industries in. South is much bigger and better than the. yeah see I had a similar thing that when. when I came to to Bombay first during. the marudham and others I was just. shocked with the fact that nobody knew. what anything about South India but then. I realized I don't know anything about. North India either I didn't know the. difference between Punjabi Hindi. haryanvi I just didn't know all of it.

and I didn't know the cultures till I. till I went to uh Patna I was like wow. this is a different world it's not uh. what what I I've seen or I've exposed to. but then I realized. many people in Bombay also don't know. that. right very few people know what's. happening in the Punjab industry yeah. you don't know what's happening in the. Marathi industry so it's it's not out. there. interesting but that's that's something. which I think Bollywood has done really.

well like they made everything. mainstream around them. like something you have to do give kudos. to them because they just orchestrated. this way very well oh beautiful I'm. saying see there's the fact that they've. created a music industry that's. phenomenal in India I think nobody would. I mean you have great things that have. been built out of them yeah you know you. talked about two exceptional writers and. then you talked about that you're like. Malayalam movie is exceptionally good. writing and you are interested in Tech. what do you feel like with.

Ai and chat gpt3 do you feel that the. job of writers is in is in difficult. space no I think it'll just Aid the. writers to write better it'll just have. a it's like you're having another. resistant of yourself right so think. about what is in stopping let's say you. are are you a writer no yeah right a. little bit a little bit right like. you're not one of the best writers no no. okay not at all so let's say what is. stopping you and me together to come. it's like okay let's just pick up the. writing skill of XYZ person give it a.

chart GB3 and ask him to try it you. think I didn't try it. you're gonna take yeah. I mean no it's it'll be a while before a. EI tool can drop a script and say go and. shoot this it'll be a while before that. happens for sure but that's gonna happen. soon not soon see it needs. enormous amount of data enormous amount. of people using it. for it to understand what we want to do.

right like I said I'm saying. how difficult would it be for an AI to. understand India one two and three. right and their likings their. understanding so it's going to be a. while before that happens yeah see the. AI is built from. a different standpoint it's not built. yeah to understand what people and. mother I will like yet. true true so I'm saying it'll be a while. I'm saying in the next five seven years. you'll see a.

a radical change but in for the next. five years it will always be great. assistance uh it'll it will definitely. replace some skills uh in terms of. design in terms of few things that are. some basic skills it will definitely. replace basic creative stuff but. ultimately you'll need the big creators. to put it together nice so like it'll be. a while before you trust a machine and. say I'll give a dawn stroke machine. it's trust through true you know.

and then we go to the last the business. part of it okay the last segment uh what. I've note is a pattern in Telugu in. Tamil movies. they always make protagonists the ideal. person. like look at it like you know there's a. pattern a. that the protagonist will be super. powerful macho man but will be super. soft at heart when it comes to his. mother angle or a family angle there'll. be such certain angle he'll always be.

shown like he's he's a good. philanthropist he does that for his. community okay then he is he'll go very. Rowdy with his trying to win his girl's. heart but then be super soft with her. but for the world he'll be like the. extra Macho you know there's like a. pattern. see it's depends on okay all the good. ideal things like he's the. philanthropist he has to be soft at hard. he's to be Super Macho he'll fight for. the good he he will show that change. that he wanted to do something but now.

he wants to build the community like see. what's what's a hero. who's a hero role model. all of those things that you said are. that in many different manners. so as much as what is the hero you're. trying to build you're trying to build a. hero that's. a person you want to be. so if I was. say my first film leader. shekar Kamala wrote that film because. that was the chief minister he wanted to.

see and that's the ideal person he built. uh. so ultimately all heroes Journeys are. similar every Hero has a similar Journey. a similar Arc. whatever kind of hero could be. Lord Rama from ramayan or could be. a baahubali from the film baahubali. everybody will have arcs that are pretty. similar in in nature yeah that's what. makes them Heroes. sometimes you you don't have to do. different things you got to do the same.

things differently interesting take. so this is a pattern it's not really I. mean it's pattern based on how much. Cinema you saw yeah. no no I've seen like a lot but I mean. all like the protagonists lead this kind. of movies I've seen I've seen two three. Surya like Surya movies I've seen. nagarjuna's movies and I've seen yours. I've seen so yeah you don't see me as a. good guy you'll be yeah even my hero. films I played a bad guy and became hero.

yeah yeah so I have some ideal good ones. I have some Idol bad ones but it's. always a variety of stuff right and. ultimately you want. the hero to win and you would want that. person only if you can relate to him if. he can do things that are ideal that are. right uh by what you say right. ultimately that's the guy you want um. now that I'm thinking about it.

like how many movies I've seen with. South India but I've seen all of this. from this pattern only that's why like I. have a very biased judgmental I used to. share a lot of this right when uh. they were. used to tell the story of ramayan or. I have a habit of telling friends that. who don't know of the ramayan or the. Mahabharata picking stories and telling. it to them. but there was every time there was I. used to tell stories of the Mahabharata. they used to be interested because it.

was politics it was greed there was a. certain violence to many things uh and. con because of many multiple characters. but there's a sense of everybody feels. like they know the Raman and the fact. that okay there is a certain uh textbook. way of how Ram should be or this is what. it is. but look at the the following that Rama. is as a hero. you would have been you heard him saying. everybody believes that those are the. stories but the number of temples that.

are built for him whether it's in India. or across the world. the significance that that story had. that was told eons ago is still being. told in the newest manner possible. you uh religious people make it their. identity politics make its their. identity. regular everyday people make it their. identity. because that's the hero you want yeah. this yeah the simplistic ideal. my minute image in your head of a person.

is. and all of what these characteristics. that you said. gives charity he's soft with the person. that he has he's he loves yeah he he's. tough and he fights the men that he has. to fight. all of these are those traits uh these. are traits. yeah and and these threats never will. get old in whatever story you're trying. to tell it very I never thought of it. this way but yeah Mahabharata and Rama.

and they have like I've grown up. watching both of them and my family like. my dad is huge. fan of all of these and we've always had. these conversation dinner table. conversation would be this we want that. but. I genuinely feel that I understand. ramayan way better than Mahabharata. because it's the same thing because it. had like one set of fruit. there's too many people there's a lot of. a lot of followers every time you look. at Mahabharat you see it from a. different angle because there's a lot of. things but here there is a certain. journey and everybody knows that story.

clearly you're not confused when is. there a pattern of manufacturing a hit. so I tell you how see if you look at. YouTube videos right there's a pattern. so one YouTube video make and the next. YouTube video you want to make it better. so you have a pattern like okay my. thumbnail should be like this my title. should be like this the first half. should be like this should be then is. there a pattern of making a hit film see. a regular commercial success. there will be some patterns to be. followed there will be some formulas.

that you can all get right and it'll be. reasonably correct it might not if you. there's definitely guidelines that you. can follow that will make a reasonably. correct story give me three four. guidelines that you feel like for a. commercially successful hit because. you've been part of bahubali that's been. wild and you've been part of small. Independence independent stuff as well. so see like the one is the clarity of. who this film is for. a commercial film.

is first for a larger group of audience. it's not a niche it's not. too. engage with a certain set of people it. is for everybody to like it so how do. you decide that common factor for. everybody so I'm saying now if you're. taking a story of a hero you want to. tell a hero story now you've taken the. patterns of what you've spoken earlier. right there's a certain hero Rhythm to. things okay now are you going to make it. an entertaining hero are you how are you.

going to empathize with these people. what are the emotional chords that. you're going to connect and tell the. story. and if you are hitting all of those. beats what is your right midpoint what. is your right pre-climax what is the. right climax if there are certain. rhythms that you can follow and say okay. this is the set pattern of a commercial. film. which will go reasonably okay but the. successful ones if you want to make our. story is told for the first time. unless you walk into the theater and.

feel like this is the first time you're. feeling this this is the first time I'm. experiencing an emotion that I did not. those are films that become really. really successful. see bahubali will have all of the the. rules of what a right story should have. but it will have an extravagance in the. experience that it offered. that will be like okay now this you are. feeling for the first time ever the the. emotion.

were the same which we have seen like. the victory the bad guy the good guy but. add an extravagant scale like everything. was super extravagant underlined those. emotions to the largest degree and. that's what that's what mainstream is. that's what commercial is is underlining. mainstream emotions. will see the a certain niche of the. audience will think that there's a. certain cliche to it because it's. underlined like that but a larger. Auditorium will understand that yeah so.

that's that's how it works so what like. the the top three emotions which are. like super mainstream would be love. Victory and. of Revenge nice revenge is a is a great. emotion to tell love is a beautiful. emotion to tell. togetherness and family is a great. emotion because any hero bringing people. together. is is a great emotion to tell a bond. between brother sister has a great. emotion to tell. any any bond that can be underlined and.

have an and can strike an emotional God. see everybody will strike emotional. chords with parents siblings if they. have siblings uh everybody will strike. their basic human emotions right you. need to make sure which chords are you. touching in this story that you're. trying to tell. [Music]. interesting the other last question on. this okay and that's. something that I read again about.

everything that we do as an individual. is. consciously or subconsciously we're. doing it for a signaling value. we all have a signaling value that's. what we do like we want excuse me so we. want to Signal something like Express. something maybe through the clothes we. wear the stories we do the. like the work we do or the kind of. movies we add into like we're trying to. Signal something out of out of us it.

and it's so true like no matter what you. do. everything out of your living room which. you're doing is for some signaling value. for sure right so. so when you do the movies like what is. the signaling you're trying to give like. what is that one signal. is. what is the signal that I'm trying to. put together is the fact that as an. audience if you walk into my film you. will see things for the first time that. you haven't seen before.

that's always in your mind that's always. on my mind I just feel like Cinema is an. experiential medium and if you're. walking into that theater whether it's. inside of a submarine whether it's a war. whether it's inside the middle of. politics I'd like you to be in a world. and. uh bring a different world for people. experience that with me and with these. characters in the movie I think you want. to build a narrative around you and do. you choose those movies they say you. know like there was a time when Akshay. Kumar was only choosing patriotic movies. and there was a time when he was only.

choosing an Indian going outside like. experimenting I don't know I don't I. don't know if Cinema I can never choose. stuff like that you can never do that to. me I think this. it's not me who's choosing the story. that story is coming and choosing me in. some ways right it's uh that's how it is. it's. there's a certain organic energy to. things why you have to play that person. there'll be a reason for it and I and. that's mostly how I built my life it. doesn't matter.

what I'm going to play as long as. whatever that is because that's the. beauty of not expecting it I can't sit. and decide in my office I want to make a. submarine movie. unless I met sankalp who is had that. Vision to make a certain film so to me I. just hope I keep meeting newer and new. people who have great ideas to tell and. great stories to tell and I'd like to be. part of those what do you value more. quantity or quality. quality for sure then quantity is very. you want to do less work but better work.

yeah if I can do a lot of better work. than it's great but but it's hard it's I. think it good things take time and I. think. I'm not somebody who can I used to be. that but I think as you grow and you. learn more and more you feel like you. know lesser and lesser and the time you. take the decision you want to make sure. many things are ticked off before you. just went ahead and did it but now it's. like here you go is this right not right. how do you switch on your artist mode.

and how do you switch off and then turn. on your business mode because let's say. you're doing so I'm asking let's say. you're doing baahubali like the biggest. project of your life you're working on. it. and then your sports team read finals. and you really need to go and give them. a pep talk yeah and talk to like a large. corporate to get land them a deal so. like who do you choose at that time what. do you do let other people handle it oh. no if I'm on certain shooting I don't I. don't even know what I do like there's. no sense of business there's no sense of.

anything like nobody reaches me. so it's I'm just that person but the. problem is I realized after I'm done. with set there'll be some influences of. that character that will be rubbing on. some decisions that I make. for sure because that's how you behave. mostly that's how you are mostly so. there'll be some leakages from my story. to this but not the other way around. okay so did you get evil after after. bahubali and we're like no no I'm saying. you your vision will start getting.

bigger you want bigger things you want. to You'll Think like a king you'll. you'll want things that you are doing. might see will seem very very small your. vision will be much larger and I I. actually firmly noticed this when I did. I actually it was a small role that I. played in in the NTR biopic so I played. the role of Chandra Baba Naidu the. ex-chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh now. this is the first time I'm playing. somebody in real right it's a real. person that I saw all my life as the CM. for two terms 10 years of my life 11.

years of my life. and uh. and I was playing him young which means. I didn't see that part of it I saw when. he was older. and I I mean I was lucky enough to spend. a lot of time with him understand and he. narrated back the incident of the film. that or the part that I was putting of. what he remembers of that incident. to me I realized just because I was now. not being somebody else I was being a.

person that many people know more than. they know me right it's he was chief. minister of the state and. my office going because the funny thing. that schedule was like you shot four. days and after that next two months. later another food is that kind of stuff. was happening. but that time I realized there was a. certain discipline a certain rhythm in. how I operated that I never did before. another one thing I said why am I so. correct this thing then I realized there.

was that man was influencing me so much. because of the sense of discipline and. Authority he had over things he was. doing so I was trying to be that person. in some strange way. nice but that's that's an opportunity. for you that because you get to be yeah. yeah it's so many I'm saying now I'm. conscious about it earlier I wasn't it. was just happening and I was wondering I. said why did I take that call at that. point then you'll start realizing who. you are in a little more. you want to enter politics at any time.

oh man I like I like I like to tell. stories in movies. I mean politician is a great. storytellers that's why I use them and. make political dreams it's a lot of. drama you never intended to get into it. no man see Never Say Never to anything. but I never thought of it till now yes. so it's like this lifeful. my life at least so far has been putting. me in places that here you go this is. what you need to do figure out learn it. do it so that's pretty much I said.

whatever I'm supposed to do in the. future I think I will if time comes I. will have to learn it and do it oh. perfect. thanks man thanks for doing this I just. have last took one line questions which. we ask everybody okay okay so first is. like what drives you now because you. have a great life you have money you. have business Investments going on like. I don't think to live a comfortable life. you need to work anymore. because so what drives you now in fact.

you have reached people know you Fame is. there for you I don't know if you don't. if you want more Fame more money that's. never ending but still. what drives me like okay like let me. give you an example you said okay people. know me so I was like okay is so popular. that everybody you've seen that film. knows. so for me it's like a responsibility now. to make sure I deliver something awesome. because otherwise it's like a let down. rate in some ways like so many people. know you and whether they're expecting.

it or not the minute they see me I just. want them to feel. as awesome as they did when they saw me. last so that is the constant effort that. will be driving me as an actor that okay. is this the newest version or the most. coolest version I can offer now so I. think that that drives me a lot and the. fact that. the second piece that drives me is. the opportunity that's available and the. fact that. I'm in a position to put a lot of that.

together. and really be. really change the way things can happen. in the future. does that pressure ever make you anxious. that's not pressure but uh no like the. pressure of your last success yeah I. mean yeah I mean yeah for baahubali for. sure now you're like okay now what do. you do right uh like and it's strange I. remember there was there's one thing. that I got to tell you when you said. this. this is after my first film I was. shooting for the maratham then and there. was a filmmaker that I met his name is.

Mr Amir Amir Sultan it's a Tamil. filmmaker made an amazing film called. parthiviran uh with karthi it's karthi's. Festival. and I met him at that point and uh this. is for some story that he had which he. wanted to tell me and he looked at me. and said what are you going to play now. he said I said what do you mean sir he. said you played a chief minister of a. state he's saying there's nothing bigger. than that that you can play right now. he's saying unless you play a bad guy I. don't think I can accept you I said what.

do you mean he said now we should go. fall in love with girl run around. college girl while you care I've already. seen you as this and which was actually. true till the point I played a negative. guy it wasn't enough you know what I'm. saying so I need to constantly say I'm. an extreme guy I said which means I need. to find extreme characters to tell and. each time I tell it it should be fun. in dressing so next extreme for you. maybe is the Star Wars kind of stuff. which you want to do no no. my next extreme is actually out 10th of. March okay which is a show on Netflix.

what's it about uh a show is called Rana. Naidoo uh it's a it's a family drama of. a bunch of gangsters and fixes nice so. so and it's me and my uncle Playing. Father and Son and this is the first. time we've done anything together. uh it's a it's a dark family drama okay. and uh it's a narrative that I would. never do on film. but it it leads to a great long form and.

uh got to work with Karan and Suman. who's done mirzapur and others so we so. I got to learn a lot of new things from. it and to me this is the first time I've. done anything like that. and like fun as I got my uncle to do. something for the first time which is. extremely different from what he's done. so far so when is it coming out 10th. March 10th 10th of March on what. platform on Netflix. and are you excited for the drama what. do you mean by dark like give me one. example.

let me just say it's a it's a complex. family with complex problems is it like. The Godfather version of India or some. kind of stuff no no it's not that it's. not that at all. you'll see it oh we love it I love. gangsters. is there yeah it's gangsters in their. lives and their families nice the last. question of the day is for me that uh. it has it's two parts one is. for everybody young watching this.

entrepreneurial Hustlers people who want. to become you know way better than who. they are today. what do you feel in India what's the. next big opportunity. well first if everybody for for young. people I think understanding artificial. intelligence and everything that it can. do in our lives. will probably be a very important thing. in the future. uh it wasn't for us so far growing up. but it will be quite a.

I think it'll cause a different way in. terms of how we look at life so I think. it's important for all of them to be. focused and understand what that is. because it's not something that's taught. in schools yeah nobody teaches anybody. to. uh so I think it's it's important how. you plan your career you can't build a. career that AI can just replace so all. of these uh so I think that's that's an. important part uh and. the second thing is like there's. something. where everyone has a fear of what will.

somebody think if I fail at this. business what will someone think if I. don't get this right I think that's it's. fine it's fine to fail it's fine you. just got to keep moving you can't. put yourself down I think so for anybody. who's young it's like you have a long. life ahead because at that point it'll. feel like the end of it yeah but five. years later it probably won't even. matter. uh what is important to know is that. nothing is constant.

everything is subject to change. and everything will pass. that's that's what I'd leave you with. that's that's something I love I would. love to accept but I am in in those. shoes as well because I feel like. everything's done just out of one bad. moment but I think we gotta live with it. and we gotta understand what's Guru the. second part of the question was how can. we make this better like what should we. do because. in your experience how can I make this.

podcast the best podcast ever what one. or two things I should focus on with the. next guest that that will make this. better really better see one is uh I'm. sure you now how many how many. interviews you've done so far 100 plus. 100 plus. I think it's important for you too. now bring that into data and understand. it well sometimes what we do is we keep. working non-stop and we broadly know. what's happening but we're not in the. detail of saying okay now this is the.

point they went away this is the point. they're interested in like if you're. able to understand that auditory and. your audience will. uh whether it's through comments whether. it's now today you have like so many AI. tools that uh say okay here you go here. he left here he came whatever right yeah. just take all of that data and keep. constantly analyzing whether it's right. or not. and make sure that you're offering. something which people can take back and. say wow after this podcast this is what.

I thought but this is how I think today. so I think you got to underline your why. why are you making this what do you want. to communicate and make sure that's. underlined whether it's me who's an. actor as a guest whether tomorrow you. have an astronaut doesn't matter but. your why has to be answered each time. you've completed a show. nice so we got a. I. I like it so we we need to just make.

sure I'm boiled on everything to one. single why like this is what this is. what out of this person yes. hmm and change the way people think love. it thank you so much for your feedback. and spending time thank you it was fun. man thank you thanks a lot.

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