Rana Daggubati once hid from wild elephants in jungle for 3 hours in pitch dark: ‘People started running’

Rana Daggubati recalled how he was once shooting in a jungle within an elephant corridor, and the unit personnel started running when they saw wild elephants.

Actor Rana Daggubati recently recalled a terrifying experience in the middle of a forest while filming for one of his movies. At the pre-release event of Mowgli, the actor recalled how he had to hide for three hours in pitch dark when he came across wild elephants in the jungle. Here’s what happened.

Rana Daggubati shot in the middle of a forest for his 2021 film Aranya.

Rana Daggubati recalls terrifying experience in forest

Rana recalled that when he was shooting for Aranya (2021), he spent six months in the forest. He states that they were shooting an elephant of their own in an elephant corridor and had exceeded the allotted time to shoot there. “We were told we needed to leave by a certain time. But you know how films work, and we overshot. Suddenly, many people in the unit started running,” said the actor.

He added that wild elephants were passing through, and with no other choice, he had to hide for three long hours. “What happened was that wild elephants were crossing, and we all had to hide for some time without making any noise. We were all there for about three hours in the jungle, which was pitch dark. That was the first time I experienced how terrifying the jungle can be,” recalled Rana.

For the unversed, Aranya was simultaneously filmed in three languages. It was released in Tamil as Kaadan and in Hindi as Haathi Mere Saathi. The film also starred Vishnu Vishal in the South Indian languages and Pulkit Samrat in Hindi. It received a direct OTT release due to COVID-19.

Recent work

In 2025, Rana played a cameo in the post-credits of Teja Sajja-starrer Mirai. SS Rajamouli’s re-release of the combined Baahubali films, Baahubali: The Epic, also saw him as Bhallaladeva. He starred as Inspector Devara, alias Phoenix, in Kaantha, which saw Dulquer Salmaan, Bhagyashri Borse and Samuthirakani in lead roles. He will soon star in Parasakthi in Tamil.

Rana has also produced Kothapallilo Okappudu and Kaantha this year, in addition to presenting Premante.