Considering the mammoth opening that Baahubali 2 has taken across the country, it's not surprising that its star cast is being discussed with great interest. Rana Daggubati's portrayal as an intensely cunning Bhallaladeva has also received much appreciation.
However, fans of the film outside the two Telugu speaking states have been taken aback by an old video that has resurfaced - in a chat show on Gemini TV, Rana reveals that he's actually blind in one eye. In Baahubali, we're often shown shots of Bhallaladeva's simmering eyes as he masks his rage and plots his revenge. Rana's revelation that he has vision in only one has therefore shocked many who watched the film and never guessed this fact.
Film industries across the world are full of beautiful people with near perfect bodies. Not only their surgeries to achieve further "perfection", even their illnesses are concealed from the rest of the world. Many of them are very careful about making even casual public appearances without their makeup and wig in place because they cannot afford to ruin their image as perfect beings.
While stars like Hrithik Roshan have spoken about overcoming difficulties such as a speech impediment or in more recent times, battling depression or eating disorder issues, not many have opened up about a physical disability.
On the show, Rana says that he cannot see from the right eye and that what we see is actually a donor eye. He goes on to tell the visibly moved audience, some of whom are also visually impaired, that he was operated upon as a child at the LV Prasad Eye Institute.
The video also shows Rana saying, "My grandfather used to tell me before he passed away, that God would present difficulties only to those who have courage."
Rana is the grandson of the late Daggubati Ramanaidu, a multilingual Indian film producer who had passed away in February 2015.
After telling the contestants of the show that he was visually impaired too, Rana tells them, "Study well, we will support you. Be courageous, as you have to look after your mother. Your sorrows will go away soon."
Rana's revelation, although discovered a year late by fans outside the Telugu states, is still an inspiration and a reminder that the stars we see on the big screen are human, too, and have reached where they are after several struggles that we may never come to know.
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