Ek Love Ya steers clear of formulaic love stories that everyone is tired of: Raanna

For Raanna, acting runs in the family. He is the son of yesteryear actress Mamatha Rao and brother to actress and producer Rakshitha. And now, it’s his turn to take his place behind the cameras with his debut in Ek Love Ya this week. The film is directed by brother-in-law Prem and the songs are a rage. Raanna speaks about his foray into acting and his plans ahead in this exclusive chat...

Growing up, I was used to seeing actors around me because of my family. I used to often wonder how it would be if I had an opportunity like them. My parents, though, wanted me to pursue my studies. I finished my engineering and later even applied to universities abroad. I was initially scared to tell my parents about my acting aspirations. During my engineering days, my mother used to tell me to finish my studies and then we'd see. But I kept giving hints. When I completed my engineering, I was clear that I wanted to act. My mother wanted me to complete my masters. But, I knew that acting was what I wanted to do. It was then that my parents told my sister and brother-in-law about it. I had begun preparations with dance classes. My brother-in-law was the one who told my mother that it would be good if I acted.
I began working with my brother-in-law right from The Villain. We developed a proper professional relationship. It became very comfortable for me, as I would not look at him as a family member. It was a proper director and actor relationship on the set. So, even when I had to do some intimate scenes, I had no inhibitions. He brought that comfort level for me. I recall that I was made to have beer on camera on the very first day in my first shot. It set the tone (laughs). In fact, it has been a very fruitful and learning experience. Since we were a young team, it was like a picnic on the sets. The director was like a teacher on the set. I recall the last day of shoot in Gujarat. It was a bittersweet experience. On the one hand, we were happy the film was completed after the delay, but it was sad to leave a team which had become family.

When we were narrowing down on the scripts, we were sure that it should be a commercial entertainer with all emotions, but it had to be a love story. My brother-in-law was clear about launching a new pair. All of us wanted to steer clear of the formulaic love stories that everyone has grown tired of. They wanted something unique. It was the sixth or seventh story that we had heard and we all agreed to it. Today, I can say that the love story is very different. It has a thriller element to it and also has a very good and relevant message about an important issue that is seen in today's society with respect to girls. There is content, entertainment and, at the same time, a message, which sets the film apart. The story travels about 15 years in the lives of my character and my friends. We can see the change in looks and also, we play three different shades. So, it was a great opportunity and a complete package.

I want to steer clear of being typecast. I want to do all kinds of films in every genre. Today, we look at cinema only with regard to content. My aim, hence, is to ensure I do enough films that will be remembered for the content.