Archive · 4 Sep 2026
Rana Daggubati Backs Unconventional Films Over Box Office Formulas
Rana Daggubati works in films as an actor and producer.
He says movies cannot be judged by a simple business formula.
Some films that seem likely to succeed may fail, while unusual films can be remembered for many years.
He now chooses projects because he finds their stories and filmmakers interesting.
One of his new projects is Last Man in the Tower, based on a novel by Aravind Adiga.
The story is about people in a city trying to protect their homes while the area changes around them.
Rana believes many good films are being made in India.
He says the bigger problem is helping those films reach audiences through cinemas and distribution.
He hopes better access will help audiences discover more kinds of movies.
Rana Daggubati says he no longer tries to predict which films will succeed commercially.
He chose to produce Last Man in the Tower after reading Aravind Adiga’s novel before its screenplay.
The film stars Manoj Bajpayee and Divya Dutta and is set against the changing life of Bombay.
Through Spirit Media, Rana has backed unconventional projects and helped distribute All We Imagine as Light.
He argues that film distribution and exhibition, rather than production, are the industry’s biggest current challenges.
- Who
- Rana Daggubati, along with filmmakers and actors connected to his production projects.
- What
- Rana discussed his approach to producing films and argued that distribution and exhibition need more attention than film production.
- When
- The article does not specify when the comments were made.
- Where
- The discussion concerns the Indian film industry, including films connected to Bombay and regional markets.
- Why
- Rana says he wants to support distinctive stories and believes many good films fail to find audiences because they lack sufficient distribution and exhibition opportunities.
- Producer
- Rana Daggubati
- Production company
- Spirit Media
- Featured project
- Last Man in the Tower
- Source novel
- Aravind Adiga’s 2011 bestseller
- Featured cast
- Manoj Bajpayee and Divya Dutta
- Other supported film
- All We Imagine as Light, directed by Payal Kapadia
- Industry concern
- Distribution and exhibition, rather than producing more films