In a deeply moving and introspective conversation on Chapter 2, hosted by Rhea Chakraborty, Rana Daggubati opened up about one of the most transformative phases of his life. Known for his strength on screen and resilience off it, Rana spoke candidly about his health battle, the emotional upheaval that followed, and how it marked the beginning of what he calls his chapter two.
The podcast, celebrated for its honest and unfiltered conversations about growth, healing and reinvention, became the perfect space for Rana to reflect on a journey that reshaped his perspective on life, ambition and purpose.
“See, obviously when I was diagnosed the first time, it came as a shock. You don’t expect anything to happen to you, and that’s not how you normally think every day. You always think of yourself as the center of the world, and that’s how life goes on – okay, I will do this, I will achieve this, I will be able to do this. Hence, it’s always the ‘I’ in the center in some manner. For me, that was the first time I could get displaced. You’re trained to know how to feel if there is a friend or a family member who’s unwell – you know how to react because you’ve reacted before in your life to that. But you don’t know how to react when it’s happening to you. You get sympathy from a lot of people – they really want to know what happened. It’s a shock to them as much as it is to you, which is fully understandable. But for you, it becomes a little reality shift – like, oh, it’s possible for me not to be there and for all of this to happen.”
Reflecting on the long road to recovery and the pause it forced upon his career, he added, “First, I had to get my health fixed. For that, there were a bunch of things to do – whether it was my food, the process of getting to surgery, the surgery itself, and post surgery care. I knew it was a long cycle; it’s not something that you go and come back from quickly. So I thought, okay, that means technically I have to check out of everything I’m doing or intended to do. There was a film I could shoot only halfway, and then I had to go back, so we couldn’t complete it – that was a bit of a problem. I had to fix all the issues that were there. When I went off to the US, I was there for a while. It was also the first time I was just by myself for a really long time – just you and your thoughts. My family was around for a while, and then I stayed by myself. You start thinking much more in terms of purpose – why you’re there. My deep core of ‘why’ comes from there. Unless your ‘why’ is clear, nothing means anything”
With honesty and vulnerability, Rana’s reflections on Chapter 2 offered more than just a recounting of a difficult phase. They revealed a powerful shift in mindset. His story stands as a reminder that setbacks can become turning points and that clarity of purpose often emerges from life’s toughest chapters.