Mahesh Babu - Box-Office Prince

Balancing celebrity with humility and professional with the personal, Mahesh Babu is the reigning star of Telugu cinema whose appeal transcends generations

- Samrat Chakrabarti

In the movie-mad land of the Telugus, where stars are demigods and fandom a religion, Mahesh Babu is undoubtedly the chosen one from his generation. His fame is already the stuff of legend, and his success and failure at the box office makes and breaks the Telugu industry as a whole. It’s surprising then to see the superstar stroll in sans entourage at the Vogue shoot. A noiseless professional, he comes armed with his boy-next-door charm and works with the crew, posing with ease and being a team player from start to end.

Stardom aside, at home he is simply Mahesh—the son of Krishna, husband to Namrata and father of Gautham and Sitara. “I haven’t seen a more disciplined and dedicated person. He doesn’t settle for less. And he can balance work-life very well,” says his actor-wife, who also doubles up as his manager. But unlike the cocksure, infallible characters he plays, the Mahesh at work swings between glorious success and bitter failure. As he talks about his journey so far, the 44-year-old (who doesn’t look a day over 25) confesses, “Failure is a hidden treasure. I learn from them. I analyse it. But the initial pain is hard. Namrata helps me through that.”

A STAR IS BORN

Ask Mahesh about his illustrious trajectory, and he’d have to turn back the clock to how it all began—at the age of four, almost by default, thanks to his father Krishna, a star from an earlier era in the Telugu film industry.