With the success of The Inside Edge and Mirzapur behind him, writer-director-creator Karan Anshuman was looking for something else to attach his name to. It came as an Indian adaptation of the popular American series Ray Donovan, titled Rana Naidu, and opposite Rana Daggubati. The action drama, which also stars Daggubati’s star uncle Venkatesh, tells the story of a father-son duo who are pitted against each other against a high-tech backdrop.
“It’s easily the biggest show I’ve done so far. It’s given me a lot of freedom to do things I couldn’t do before,” Anshuman said of mounting the series with director Supraan Verma and producer Aaron Sundar. The filmmaker adds that streaming giant Netflix and his producers had the faith in him and the writers to take on the project without compromising his vision. “Every step of filmmaking is essentially a compromise. Yes, right? From idea on paper to budget, but here, [I found] Freedom to write and direct.
For someone who was working on a remake for the first time, adaptation Came as a challenge. While the comparisons are inevitable, Anshuman had to ensure that the screenplay stood on its own rather than sounding like a derivative of the original show. “It was important for us to sort out the material we were starting with and be proud of what we were creating. We didn’t have to. [focus on] The constant comparisons that are going to be made to the original,” says Anshuman, confirming that they have managed to keep it unique from the source material. “Writing was the main challenge. Otherwise, it was a cakewalk for over 100 days of shooting,” he shares.
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