Every other actress, right from Kangana Ranaut to Sonam Kapoor and even, new actresses now want to work with Mahesh Babu. And even in Tollywood, almost every director wants to sign up the superstar.
Such is the clamour for Mahesh Babu, because, the facts are borderline stunning. He is the only South Indian actor, who endorses at least a dozen brands — across the spectrum, from mobile phones to FMCGs.
His upcoming film '1, Nenokkadine', is releasing this Sankranti and a month before its release, Eros bought the rights to the film for a rumoured Rs70 crore, making the flick one of the most ‘expensive’ films to date.
Talking exclusively to Deccan Chronicle, the actor shares his experience working with director Sukumar and upcoming projects.
When they added the 1 in the title of the film, people thought that it was deliberately added. “The title is apt for our film’s story; once you watch the film, you will realise why. We checked out many other titles, but finally decided on this one. No, the 1 isn’t deliberate,” he says.
According to him, this film has a fresh concept and a very challenging film to do. “In my opinion, this kind of film hasn’t been done before in the Telugu film industry. When director Sukumar narrated the story, I was very excited; at the same time we knew that it is a very difficult film. We worked for almost one-and-half-years and everybody worked hard. The shooting was also complex, as we shot for almost two months in London, then a month in Goa and then we went to Bangkok for more than a month,” the actor reveals.
He also had to fight off rumours. When this film was under production, many claimed that the project was facing severe delays. “I knew when I started this film, it would take time and it’s not easy to do it fast, because of the new concept and subject. My producers also knew that and didn’t have any problem, so what was the problem?”
Mahesh, the father, is very excited too about son Gautam Krishna, who is already undergoing ‘training’ for his debut with this film.
The cautious father
“Three months after we started shooting, director Sukumar decided he wanted to take Gautam. Every month, the director and his assistant came to my home for two to three days and played with Gautam. That way they were able to get to Gautam and prepare him for the shoot,” says Mahesh.
Gautam’s teacher, Aruna Bikshu, a Kuchipudi dancer and guru for many actors, would come to the sets and guide Gautam.
“She has helped Gautam perform well,” says Mahesh. Like Mahesh Babu, his son Gautam too has started acting during the holidays. But the father remains cautious.
“When Gautam is shooting I don’t go there, otherwise his concentration will be on me. But, I believe his studies are important. During holidays, if he wants to act then I will see, otherwise we don’t want to force him to do films.”
The film is also primarily an action thriller. “I am playing a rockstar and I have to do a lot of action. But I wanted to be injury-free and fit, so I got a fitness trainer. More than that, I wanted to come up with a new look and you can see a new and fresh Mahesh Babu in the film. That’s the purpose of a fitness trainer — not to tear shirts off and showing a six-pack. What we need is an athletic look,” the actor adds.
‘We don’t care for Page 3’
Despite being a superstar, the actor and his family maintain a low-profile. “From my childhood, I am like this. I never go parties and attend functions. Even after marriage, our home is important for us. We don’t give importance to Page 3 or to appear at all the events. Our focus is on our kids and our home. From the beginning we were like this, even when our father was a big star we would hardly go out, most of the time we stayed at home and spent time with the family,” says Mahesh.
Asked about his bond with his family members, he says he is very close to everybody. “I am very close to my brother Ramesh Babu. When my father was away for shootings, my brother would take care of me and I am very close to him, and yes, dad’s always special. He used to call me and enquire about my film’s progress. Whenever I deliver a hit, I can see a glow on my father’s face. Sometimes, I think he turns 10 to 15 years younger, when I deliver a hit.”
The big b’wood question
For one of Tollywood’s biggest stars, the jump to Bollywood is still in limbo.
“I have had many offers, but nothing has excited me, moreover there is no time to do a Hindi film for the next two years at least. I don’t know, if a big director comes with an interesting subject, then I will think it over, but I am not sure,” he says.
