After the triumph of Baahubali 2: The Conclusion, Rana Daggubati experienced kidney failure and heart problems. He paused his acting career to undergo a transplant in the United States before coming back to India to continue his work. On Rhea Chakraborty’s podcast, Chapter 2, Rana discussed how he refunded advances for movies he had agreed to before his health challenges, as he was no longer considered the 'hot guy'.
Rana Daggubati discusses refunding advances for movies
Rhea mentioned on the podcast that Rana was known as 'this attractive guy from Hyderabad' who was active in Bollywood before his health issues. When questioned about how he dealt with his altered appearance, Rana stated that his primary concern was survival. However, after a year of maintaining a healthy lifestyle in the US, he noticed that his appearance had changed.
He mentioned, 'I had several movies lined up, including one about a massive wrestler, but I didn't fit the image of those characters. I was in the process of returning advances and dealing with all that.' He also recounted an incident when, upon returning to India, an immigration officer referred to him as King Bhallaladeva, reminding him of his identity before leaving for surgery.
Rana recounted, "I recall a friend of mine, Varun Tej, who is an actor, visiting me once. He's quite a large guy as well. During our conversation, he started to resemble me more than I did myself. I thought, why not just attribute all these stories to him and be done with it? It was odd and disorienting not to recognize a version of myself. I believe if I weren't an actor, I might not have been able to handle it."
Latest projects
Following his health concerns, Rana has been particular about his projects. In 2025, he appeared in 'Kaantha' alongside Dulquer Salmaan, Bhagyashri Borse, and Samuthirakani, and co-produced the film with Dulquer. Additionally, he made a cameo appearance in the post-credit scene of Teja Sajja and Manchu Manoj's 'Mirai'.
In 2023, he made a brief appearance in the film Parasakthi, featuring Sivakarthikeyan, Ravi Mohan, and Sreeleela. Additionally, he was part of the second season of the Netflix series Rana Naidu in 2025, and he hosted The Rana Daggubati Show on Prime Video during 2024-25, while also providing voice work for Solo Leveling.
