Did Mahesh Babu Once Plan to Remake ‘Thuppakki’?

An interesting anecdote about Thuppakki has surfaced, shedding light on how close it came to being remade in Telugu by Mahesh Babu.

According to Tamil producer B. Balaji Prabhu, the Telugu superstar was highly impressed with the story and reportedly acquired the remake rights even before the film’s release. “Mahesh Babu liked the script so much that he bought the Telugu remake rights in advance. Later, the film became a massive hit,” he revealed.

The Vijay-starrer spy thriller went on to dominate the Tamil box office, prompting several Telugu distributors to express interest in dubbing it. However, producer S. Thanu informed them that the remake rights had already been sold.

In a surprising move, Mahesh Babu reportedly chose to step aside. “When distributors approached him, he graciously gave away the rights, recovering only his investment, and allowed the film to be dubbed in Telugu,” Balaji Prabhu added, highlighting the actor’s generosity.

Impressed by the 2012 sleeper-cell thriller, Mahesh Babu later collaborated with director A. R. Murugadoss for Spyder, a bilingual Telugu-Tamil film. However, despite high expectations, it failed to make a strong impact at the box office.

Interestingly, Vijay himself has a long history with Telugu remakes. He adapted Mahesh Babu’s Okkadu as Ghilli and Pokiri into Pokkiri, both of which played a key role in establishing him as a major star in Kollywood. He continued to remake several Telugu hits to strengthen his market.