The actor on the secret of his longevity, adapting to new technologies, love for Telugu cinema, his Bollywood foray, and why he's indebted to his fans
Mahesh Babu
Image: Avinash Gowarikar
M
ahesh Babu is currently immersed in the shooting of Sarkaru Vaari Paata from early morning to late night. Such is his focus on his latest movie that he has kept many commitments on hold.
Born to actor Krishna and Indira, Babu, a superstar in Tollywood, made his acting debut as a child with a cameo in the Telugu film Needa (1979). Since then, he has been part of box office successes such as Murari (2001), Okkadu (2003), Pokiri (2006), Dookudu (2011), Srimanthudu (2015), Bharat Ane Nenu (2018), Maharshi (2019) and Sarlileru Neekevvaru (2020), among others.
His pan-India popularity has meant that he has been inundated with multiple offers from Bollywood for years. Though the 46-year-old is not averse to the idea of working in the Hindi film industry, he has maintained that Telugu cinema is his priority. He takes his role and responsibility so seriously that he once even apologised to his fans publicly for the failure of his films.
(This story appears in the 22 October, 2021 issue of Forbes India. To visit our Archives, click here.)