Mahesh Babu- The 'Prince' of Telugu Film Industry
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Content Team
Mahesh Babu is one of the most popular actors in the Telugu film industry. His full name is Ghattamaneni Mahesh Babu. Born on August 9, 1975, the 45-year-old Indian actor, producer, media personality, and philanthropist is one of the highest-paid actors in the Telugu film industry. He has done several movies and earned millions of fans across the country.
Mahesh Babu is the younger son of veteran Telugu actor Krishna. He was born in a Telugu family in Chennai. He spent most of his childhood there with his maternal grandmother Durgamma. He did his schooling at St. Bede's Anglo Indian Higher Secondary School. Mahesh was an average student and did his bachelor's in commerce from Loyola College, Chennai. After his graduation, Babu came in contact with director L Satyanand and learned acting skills under him. One interesting fact about Babu is that he could not read and write in Telugu. Hence, he used to memorize the dialogues during the dubbing phase.
While he started to learn professional acting skills during his college, Mahesh Babu gained the experience of acting in front of the camera at four. His debut as a child actor came in 1979 in the film Needa when he was just 4 years old. He also made appearances as a child actor in Poratam in 1983, Sankharavam (1987), Bazaar Rowdy (1988), Mugguru Kodukulu (1988), and Gudachari 117 (1989). Babu continued his college studies while giving appearances in different movies.
However, Babu's first movie as lead actor was Raja Kumarudu that came in 1999. He shared the screen with Priety Zinta in the film. He also received the Nandi Award for Best Male Debut after the film. Next year, Babu starred in two films- Yuvaraju and Vamsi. The next major break in Babu's career was Murari that came in the year 2001. Murari was a big financial success, and Babu also earned Nandi Special Jury Award for his performance. The next big film of his career was Okkadu, in which he shared the screen with Bhumika Chawla. Okkadu was the highest-earning Telugu film of 2003. Babu won his first Filmfare Award for Best Actor for the film.
Physical Stats
Height- 6 Feet 2 Inches
Weight- 70 kg
Eye Colour- Brown
Hair Colour- Black
Wife and Children:
Mahesh Babu started dating Namrata Shirodkar during the shoot of Vamsi. Mahesh and Namrata dated for four years and got married on February 10, 2005. Their first child, a baby boy, was born in 2006. In 2012, the couple welcomed their second child, a baby girl 2012.
Family:
The actor is the fourth of his parent's five children. Babu's elder brother Ramesh Babu is a film producer. His eldest sister Padmavathi is married to TDP MP Galla Jayadev. His other elder sister Manjula is also a film producer, director, and actress. Mahesh Babu lives in Jubilee Hills in Hyderabad.
The net worth of the Telugu star actor is estimated at over $20 million. Babu also owns a film production company called G Mahesh Babu Entertainment Pvt Ltd. He was also named the Most Desirable Man by Times of India, beating Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, and Aamir Khan. Superstar Rajinikanth is the only actor in Tollywood who gets more salary than him. Mahesh Babu takes nearly Rs. 20 crore for a movie appearance.
His favorite actor is his father, Krishna, while his favorite actresses are Sridevi and Trisha. Babu's favorite director is Mani Ratnam. Babu takes care of his fitness and jogs daily and spends most of his spare time reading books and playing video games.
Social Service:
Mahesh Babu believes in giving back to society. He gives 30% of his annual income to charities and doesn't like publicizing his charity work. The Telugu star was named the goodwill ambassador of Heal-a-child Foundation, a non-profit organization providing financial support to the parents of terminally ill children. Babu also donated Rs. 2.5 million to a relief fund run by the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh in October 2014 for the reconstruction of areas destroyed during Cyclone Hudhud.
Controversy:
Like any other celebrity, Mahesh Babu also has had his shares of controversies. Cases under IPC section 448, section 427, and section 366 were lodged against him after he joined a rally organized by his fans at Warangal to promote Arjun. His fans raided two video libraries and assaulted their owners who were circulating unauthorized CDs of the film.
Another controversy emerged after the Income Tax Department raided his residence in Hyderabad following a rumor that he received nearly 1.2 million for his film Dookudu.