| Mahesh Babu | |
|---|---|
Mahesh Babu at the Univercell store in - 2010 |
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| Born | Mahesh Babu Ghattamaneni August 9, 1975 [1] Madras, Tamil Nadu, India |
| Residence | Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1979–1991 1999–present |
| Spouse | Namrata Shirodkar (2005 - Present) |
| Children | Gautam Krishna |
| Website | |
| www.princemahesh.com | |
Mahesh Babu (Telugu: మహేష్ బాబు) born Mahesh Babu Ghattamaneni on 9 August 1975 is an Indian film actor from Telugu Cinema. Born to Telugu actor Krishna, Mahesh Babu faced the camera at the age of four as a child artist in the movie Needa. Mahesh Babu made his film debut in a leading role in Rajakumarudu which earned him a reputation in the Telugu film industry.[2]
He later appeared in movies like Murari (2001), Okkadu (2003), Athadu (2005), Pokiri (2006) and Dookudu (2011) which were critically and commercially successful.[3] These accomplishments have established him as one of the most sought after actors in Tollywood.[4] Mahesh won six Nandi awards and two Filmfare awards for Best Actor in his career.
He bagged 12th place in the list of Times of India 50 Most Desirable Men for the year 2010.[5] In addition to the films, he is the Brand Ambassador for Thums Up, Navratna Oil, Univercell, Amrutanjan,[6] Provogue,[7] Idea, Vivel and Jos Alukkas[8] in Andhra Pradesh.[6][9]
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Mahesh Babu was born in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, to prominent Telugu Cinema Actor Ghatamaneni Siva Rama Krishna and Smt. Indira Devi on August 9, 1975.[10] He is the younger brother of actor turned producer Ramesh Babu Ghattamaneni.[11] He also has two elder sisters, Padmavathi and actress-producer Manjula Ghattamaneni and one younger sister Priyadarshini.[12] All siblings have the rare honor of having acted in films as child artistes. Mahesh’s childhood was spent mostly in Madras under the care of his paternal grandmother Smt. Durgamma and the rest of his family.[13] His father made sure all the children spent sufficient time with him on location and on his sets, especially during holidays. Mahesh many times said that this was where his interest for acting began.[14] The film sets were a second playground and he did not hesitate to face the camera when asked to do a small role in his brother Ramesh Babu‘s debut film, Needa at the age of 4.[14] Mahesh studied at St. Bede‘s School in Chennai while continuing to attend his dad’s filming during holidays.[15] Few of his schoolmates at St.Bede's were Surya (Tamil film actor) and Vishnuvardhan (Tamil film director).[16] Mahesh obtained an Honours Degree in Commerce from Loyola College, Chennai.[17] Mahesh Babu acted in seven of his father's films as a child actor.
Mahesh dated Bollywood actress and former Femina Miss India Namrata Shirodkar for five years.[18] She was his co-star in the movie Vamsi. They got married on February 10, 2005 in Mumbai.[19] They have a son named Gautham Krishna (b. 31 August 2006).[20]
He started his acting career by playing a small role in his brother Ramesh Babu‘s debut film, Needa, under Dr. Dasari Narayana Rao's direction in 1979, at the age of 4.[21] In 1983, at the age of 8, director Kodi Ramakrishna requested him to do a role in the film Poratam since they were having difficulty casting for the role of Krishna’s sibling. This was his first full length feature film.[22] Producer / Director Dhoondy, one of the early backers of Krishna in his struggling days, watched a preview of the movie and was stunned to find out he was Krishna’s own son and remarked that there was a spark in him and he would become an excellent artist.[23] True to that prognostication, Mahesh went on to win the hearts of many Telugu film lovers as a child artist through varied roles. In Sankharavam (1987) he faced the cameras with his father directing him for the first time.[24] Veteran director A. Kodandarami Reddy directed him and his brother Ramesh for Bazaar Rowdy (1988), where he won accolades for his acting.[25] Mugguru Kodukulu (1988) saw him again team up with his brother and father, the father directing them all this time.[26] Gudachari 117 (1989) reunited Mahesh with his first film director Kodi Ramakrishna in a James Bond type of flick for which his dad, the lead in the movie, was famous.[27] Koduku Diddina Kapuram (1989), directed by Krishna again, had Mahesh in a dual role.[28] Balachandrudu and Anna Tammudu (1990) saw the teenaged Mahesh Babu completing his first innings on celluloid after which he concentrated on his studies and went out of the public eye while letting nature take its course through the awkward adolescent years.[29]
In 1999, Mahesh was re-introduced as a full-fledged hero with the movie Raja Kumarudu (The Prince).[30] Directed by K. Raghavendra Rao and co-starring Priety Zinta, this movie was a debonair start for his career earning him Nandi award for best male debutant.[31] After the movie was released, both fans and the media started fondly calling him Prince Mahesh.[32] His next release Yuvaraju followed in the year 2000.[33] Directed by Y.V.S Chowdary, the movie did moderately well at the box office completing 100 days in 19 centers all over AP.[34] In the same year, another movie Vamsi under the direction of B. Gopal was released and this movie had Namrata Shirodkar co-starring for the first time with Mahesh.[35] During the movie, the on screen couple Mahesh and Namrata started seeing each other in real life and this relationship later resulted in their beautiful marriage.[36]
In 2001, his successful movie Murari, Directed by Krishna Vamsi and co-starring Sonali Bendre, was released[37] and earned Mahesh plaudits from all sections of audience and from critics.[38] He bagged a Nandi Special Jury Award[39] for his performance in the film. Takkari Donga, produced and directed by Jayant Paranji was released in 2002, where Mahesh essayed the role of a cowboy.[40] The role and the movie were meant to honor the legacy of Krishna as the first ever Indian cowboy and also the first Indian cowboy movie Mosagallaku Mosagadu.[41] His untiring effort in the movie led to another Nandi Special Jury Award.[42] He had another release in that year, Bobby. Mahesh was paired along Aarthi Agarwal in this movie which was directed by Sobhan.[43]
Mahesh was next seen in Okkadu directed by Gunasekhar and co-starring Bhoomika Chawla, the movie was produced by M.S. Raju.[44] This movie was released in 2003 and it remains as a landmark film in Mahesh Babu's career. He won his first Filmfare Best Actor Award (Telugu) for this movie.[45] His next movie Nijam co-starring Rakshita was directed by Teja.[46] Mahesh‘s performance acquired him the prestigious Nandi Award for Best Actor.[47] In 2004, he worked with director S. J. Suryaah and had paired with Amisha Patel for the movie Naani.[48] This movie was produced by his sister Manjula Ghattamaneni.[49] The same year also had Mahesh again collaborating with Gunasekhar for his next movie Arjun which was produced by his brother G. Ramesh Babu.[50] He received a Nandi Special Jury Award for his emotional performance in the film.[51]
In 2005, Mahesh married Namrata Shirodkar after being in a relationship with her for almost 5 years.[52] The year also saw the first release after his marriage and Trivikram Srinivas’s second directorial venture, Athadu.[53] He was paired alongside with Trisha Krishnan. Mahesh once again achieved critical acclaim for his performance in the movie and also earned himself the Nandi Award for Best Actor for the second time.[54] Pokiri, produced jointly by his sister Manjula Ghattamaneni and Vaishno Academy and directed by Puri Jagannadh was the highest grossing Telugu film of the year.[55] The movie saw him paired alongside with Ileana D'Cruz. Pokiri was a success in AP as well as other states and overseas. The film completed 100 days in as many as 200 centres in Andhra Pradesh and completed silver jubilee in a record 63 centres.[56] Mahesh earned his second Filmfare award for this movie.[57]
The year also saw Mahesh working again with Director Gunasekhar and actress Trisha Krishnan for the movie Sainikudu.[58] In 2007, for his next venture Mahesh embraced corporate film making in Telugu Film Industry.[59] He collaborated with UTV and with young director Surender Reddy for Athidi which made him the first corporate hero in Telugu Film Industry.[60] He was paired along side Amrita Rao.[61] After Athidi, Mahesh devoted more time to family matters with a new toddler to spend time with, supporting and helping Namrata cope with her father’s illness and then his death, followed by Namrata’s mother’s bout with cancer and her passing away.[62] In 2008, Mahesh lent his voice for the film Jalsa, directed by his friend Trivikram Srinivas.[63] In 2009 Mahesh started working on a movie with Trivikram Srinivas as director.[64]
In 2010, after a 3 year long hiatus Mahesh returned to the silver screen with the movie Khaaleja.[65] Directed by his friend Trivikram Srinivas, the movie languished in development hell due to production problems[66] and the telangana agitations.[67] Upon release, the movie received mixed reviews and also became one of the highest grossing telugu films overseas.[68] The year also saw Mahesh embracing social networking site Twitter to interact with his fans.[69]
In 2011, his movie Dookudu co-starring Samantha Ruth Prabhu was released. It was directed by Srinu Vaitla and was produced by 14 Reels Entertainment. Upon release, the movie took the largest worldwide opening for a Telugu film. The movie also claimed the worldwide opening weekend record for a Telugu movie, earning 21.2 crores in 3 days.[70] The movie also became the highest grossing Telugu movie in the overseas[71] earning 1.5 million dollars in the first weekend.[72] It collected a share of 35.01 crores and grossed 50 crores in its first week.[73] The film set a box office record for the Telugu film industry by collecting a gross of more than 1 billion(100 crores).[74] The film completed successfully for 50-days in 312 centres.[75] CNN-IBN for the year 2011, declared Mahesh as the Actor of the Year in Telugu and Dookudu as the Hit of the Year in Telugu.[76] In September 2011, Mahesh began shooting for the movie Business Man co-starring Kajal Aggarwal. The movie was directed by Puri Jagannadh and was produced by RR Movie Makers. The movie will be released simultaneously in Telugu, Tamil and Malayalam languages on January 11, 2012.[77] Also for the first time in his career, Mahesh along with the director Puri Jagannadh lent his vocals for a song in the movie.[78] Mahesh will also begin shooting for a multistarrer movie Seethamma Vakitlo Sirimalle Chettu under the direction of Srikanth Addala.[79] Being produced by Dil Raju, this movie will also star Victory Venkatesh in a leading role. This movie was officially launched on October 6, 2011.[80]
| Year | Title | Role(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | Needa | Child Artist | |
| 1983 | Poratam | Child Artist | |
| 1987 | Sankharavam | Child Artist | |
| 1988 | Bazaar Rowdy | Mahesh | Child Artist |
| 1988 | Mugguru Kodukulu | Child Artist | |
| 1989 | Gudachari 117 | Chinna | Child Artist |
| 1989 | Koduku Diddina Kapuram | Vinod / Pramod | Child Artist (Dual Role) |
| 1990 | Anna Thammudu | Child Artist | |
| 1990 | Bala Chandrudu | Chandu | Child Artist |
| 1999 | Raja Kumarudu | Raja | Nandi Award for Best Male Debut |
| 2000 | Yuvaraju | Srinivas | |
| 2000 | Vamsi | Vamsi | |
| 2001 | Murari | Murari | Nandi Special Jury Award |
| 2002 | Takkari Donga | Raju | Nandi Special Jury Award |
| 2002 | Bobby | Bobby | |
| 2003 | Okkadu | Ajay Varma | Filmfare Best Actor Award (Telugu) |
| 2003 | Nijam | G.Seetaram | Nandi Award for Best Actor |
| 2004 | Naani | Naani | |
| 2004 | Arjun | Arjun | Nandi Special Jury Award |
| 2005 | Athadu | Nanda Gopal/Parthu | Nandi Award for Best Actor |
| 2006 | Pokiri | Pandu (Krishna Manohar) | Filmfare Best Actor Award (Telugu) |
| 2006 | Sainikudu | Siddhartha | |
| 2007 | Athidhi | Athidhi | |
| 2010 | Khaleja | Seetharama Raju | |
| 2011 | Dookudu | G. Ajay Kumar | |
| 2012 | Business Man | Surya | Post-production |
| 2012 | Seethamma Vakitlo Sirimalle Chettu | Pre-Production |
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