Bipasha calmed Rana Dagubatti's initial jitters

Southern actor Rana Daggubati, who is paired with Bipasha Basu in his Bollywood debut Dum Maaro Dum, is not dating his co-star but praises her for making him comfortable on the sets of the crime thriller.

The film, which also stars Abhishek Bachchan and Prateik Babbar, is releasing April 22.

"Being a newcomer in Bollywood, I had initial jitters, but I must say my co-stars - Bipasha and Abhishek - really helped me to pull it off. Bipasha helped me a lot and took care of my comfort during shoots," Daggubati told IANS.

"I have known Abhishek even before we started working together for the film," he added.

Directed by Rohan Sippy, the film revolves around the lives of six people who meet in Goa and how their lives change once they are dragged into the drug mafia world.

The 25-year-old plays a musician in Dum Maaro Dum.

"I play a Goan disc jockey. My character is very laid back and does not worry about anything. But he gets trapped in a dirty circle," he said.

Daggubati, grandson of veteran Telugu film actor-producer D. Ramanaidu and son of producer D. Suresh Babu, had to work on accent.

"For the character, I had to do a lot of preparation - starting from body language to the typical Hindi accent. I also took guitar lessons. But diction training took most of the time," he said.

"I had to get rid of my Hyderabadi Hindi and learn Goan Hindi. It wasn't easy because these two kinds of Hindi were mutually incompatible. I had to unlearn one kind of Hindi and then learn a new kind. Since I was brought up in Chennai, I speak fluent Tamil and Telugu," he added.

When asked what prompted him to make his debut with Rohan Sippy's film, he said: "I knew I could never get an opportunity to do this kind of role due to regional boundaries. The role and the script were a bigger excitement for me to grow as an actor."

The actor who made his debut in 2010 with Telugu movie Leader, an intense political drama, says the shooting in Goa was more like a vacation.

"Nothing can be better than enjoying your work. Even while we were shooting, it seemed as if we were all out for a vacation. Beautiful Goa, laid back attitude, fun and excitement made work so much enjoyable."

Daggubati is busy promoting Dum Maaro Dum and is equally excited about his Telugu film Nenu Na Rakshasi which will release April 29.