Rana Daggubati introduces himself as "Bandev", supposedly meaning the lord of the forest and the protector of nature, in the recently released teaser of Haathi Mere Saathi. The 35-year-old actor, who followed a strict diet and underwent extensive training to lose weight after starring in the Baahubali series, headlines the cast of Haathi Mere Saathi as a headstrong character, who fights for forest conservation. Needless to say, his companions in the movie are a herd of elephants, who respond to Bandev's calls and whistles. Haathi Mere Saathi will release in Hindi, Telugu and Tamil and Rana Daggubati plays the protagonist in all three. Pulkit Samrat co-stars with Rana in the Hindi film while actor Vishnu Vishal features in the Tamil and Telugu versions. The film also stars actresses Shriya Pilgaonkar and Zoya Hussain in all three versions.
"Rise, rage, roar," tweeted Rana while sharing the Hindi teaser:
Rise, rage, roar! The battle to #SaveTheForest has begun. To witness the BIGGEST fight of the year, watch the teaser of my film #HaathiMereSaathi now!#Haathi @ErosNow #PrabuSolomon @PulkitSamrat @zyhssn @ShriyaP @ErosIntlPlc pic.twitter.com/aHctfpizFQ
— Rana Daggubati (@RanaDaggubati) February 12, 2020
The Haathi Mere Saathi teaser got fans excited about seeing Rana Daggubati in a new avatar, who flooded Twitter with tweets cheering for the actor. Karan Johar, who presented the Hindi version of Baahubali films, also gave a shout-out to Rana: "Rana! This looks amazing! And you are superb! Can't wait to see this!"
Rana! This looks amazing! And you are superb! Can't wait to see this!!! https://t.co/UOaBbkptNQ
— Karan Johar (@karanjohar) February 13, 2020
Meanwhile, here's how Twitter reacted:
Soo exciting teaser of #HaathiMereSaathi ! What a grand set, gorgeous photography and @RanaDaggubati ,no words to describe you!You aren't Bandev, you are actually MANDEV, the king of our minds!!!! You are too too good Superhero!!! Love you zillion times!!! https://t.co/VybIDddog6
— Anindita Biswas (@AninditaBiswas6) February 12, 2020
This scene gave me goosebumps #RanaDaggubati #Kaadan #Aranya #HaathiMereSaathi pic.twitter.com/5JSQVg1vFj
— KajalLove (@kajalfelisha) February 13, 2020
This shot goosebumps
— Hinduja (@Hindujaashok10) February 12, 2020
Tiger and @RanaDaggubati #Kaadan #HaathiMereSaathi #Aranya pic.twitter.com/1pvrr2alCD
pIC Of The Day @RanaDaggubati #HaathiMereSaathi #Aranya pic.twitter.com/qccl9EDmVI
— (@Daggubati_fan) February 12, 2020
no words to express this pic @RanaDaggubati #HaathiMereSaathi #Kaadan #Aranya pic.twitter.com/nRIja8dWWP
— Hinduja (@Hindujaashok10) February 12, 2020
Earlier in 2018, Rana Daggubati trended a great deal for his Haathi Mere Saathi first look. "After finishing Baahubali, I was aware that I'd have to lose weight to play any character. So, I started the process slowly. To get in shape for Haathi Mere Saathi, I didn't eat non-veg for almost six weeks. I stopped weight training and did simple cardio exercises to shed the muscle," he told mid-day in an interview.
And now It's officially another year!! Happy New Year!! Let's make each day count!! Best wishes. And for the one's who missed here's #Bandev form #HaathiMereSaathi pic.twitter.com/cK3Cj3ARRY
— Rana Daggubati (@RanaDaggubati) January 1, 2018
Directed by Prabhu Solomon, Haathi Mere Saathi releases on April 2 this year.
