Arjun Rampal felt 'too small' next to 'huge guy' Rana Daggubati, gained 14 kg to match up for Rana Naidu | Interview

Arjun Rampal opens up on playing the bad guy in Rana Naidu season 2, and why he needed to match up to Rana Daggubati physically.

The internet says that when Arjun Rampal turns villain, it often takes two Shah Rukh Khans to beat him. Om Shanti Om and Ra.One seem to imply that is true. So, one may assume that as Arjun turns bad guy for Netflix's Rana Naidu, it's the protagonist who should worry. But Arjun tells HT in a candid chat that he was the one who was worried. And of all things, he was worried about his physique. The actor talks about his role, preparation and more in an exclusive chat.

Arjun Rampal stars with Rana Daggubati in the second season of Rana Naidu.

On playing Rana Naidu S2 villain Rauf

Rauf, the character Arjun plays in Rana Naidu season 2, is unpredictable yet charming. Talking about how he makes such a role his own, he says, “The more time you've spent working on your character with your director, writers, and yourself, then when you are on set, you can have fun. Because by then you have given your inputs, understood the character, and done all the work. And it was very important for me for Rauf to be unpredictable, funny, and have a belief system.”

On matching Rana's physique

The show features Arjun in very physical and intense fight scenes with Rana Daggubati, who plays the titular protagonist. And even though Arjun is one of the fittest actors around, he says he felt a bit too 'small' next to Rana's hulking 6'3" frame. “Talking about physicality, the thing that I felt I really needed to work on for Rauf was gaining weight. Especially because I was working with Rana, who is a huge guy. He is really tall and big, and has this incredible screen presence that I was feeling small next to him,” explains Arjun.

The actor says the only way to bridge that gap was to bulk up himself. “I decided to gain weight, because that's the only way it would appear like two guys, equals, at each other. If I go at this weight, which I have now, I would really look small next to him. So, it was important for me to put on this mass and have Rauf appear big,” he adds.

On playing villains effortlessly

Arjun may play villains effortlessly, but he admits they take a toll on him mentally. “Nobody likes to be that (bad) guy. It takes a lot out of you. It's not an easy space to be in. But while doing it, you can have a lot of fun. So, I enjoyed it,” he says.

Rana Naidu also stars Venkatesh, Surveen Chawla, Sushant Singh, Abhishek Banerjee, Rajesh Jais, Kriti Kharbanda, Tanuj Virwani, and Rajat Kapoor. The show is currently streaming on Netflix.