He made his acting debut with the Telugu film Leader. The film, written and directed by Sekhar Kammula hit the theaters on February 19, 2010 and became an instant success, gaining Rana Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut – South.

He was born on December 14, 1984 in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, to prolific film producer Suresh Babu Daggubati, the latter being the elder son of Ramanaidu Daggubati.

Actors Venkatesh Daggubati is Rana's uncle. His cousin is actor Naga Chaitanya Akkineni. Rana has attended his high school in Vengal Rao nagar , Hyderabad along with his classmates Ram Charan Teja Konidala and Allu Sirish.

As a Visual Effects producer, Rana won the Andhra Pradeshh State Nandi Award for Best Special Effects in 2006 for Telugu film Sainikudu.

In 2006, Rana produced his first film Bommalata – A Bellyful of Dreams, which won him the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Telugu.

Rana Daggubati then made his debut in 2010, as the lead actor in the critically acclaimed political thriller Leader.

He made his Bollywood debut with the Hindi film Dum Maaro Dum which released on 22 April 2011 and received mixed to positive response.

He was voted 'The Most Promising Newcomer of 2011 in the Times Of India poll conducted recently.

He was listed at number 20, on the Times of India's Most Desirable Men for the year 2011.