Mahesh Babu

Acting

Mahesh Babu

Born 1975-08-09 · Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India

Ghattamaneni Mahesh Babu (born 9 August 1975) is an Indian actor, producer, and philanthropist who primarily works in Telugu cinema. He is recognized for his nuanced performances, and has established himself as one of the most bankable and highest-paid stars in Indian cinema over the past two decades. He has received numerous accolades, including nine Nandi Awards, five Filmfare Awards South, and four SIIMA Awards, along with multiple nominations for Filmfare and SIIMA Awards. The younger son of actor Krishna, Mahesh began his career as a child actor in the 1980s, appearing in several films before making his leading debut with Rajakumarudu (1999). Early in his career, he appeared in films spanning various genres, including Murari (2001), Takkari Donga (2002), a Western-genre film, and Nijam (2003), which helped establish his career. Mahesh gained wider recognition with action dramas such as Okkadu (2003), Athadu (2005), and Pokiri (2006), the latter becoming a genre-defining blockbuster. In 2010, the conspiracy action entertainer Khaleja, the second collaboration between Mahesh and the director Trivikram, received critical acclaim. Although it initially garnered mixed reviews, the film eventually gained cult status among many film enthusiasts and inspired several directors in the Telugu film industry. Dookudu (2011) became the first Telugu-language film to gross over $1 million in the USA and earned Mahesh both a Nandi Award and a Filmfare award for Best Actor in a Leading Role. He solidified his status as a leading actor with Businessman (2012), where he portrayed the anti-hero, a ruthless and ambitious kingpin of organized crime, and further showcased his versatility in 1: Nenokkadine (2014) by delivering a critically praised performance as a neurologically troubled rockstar on a quest to uncover his forgotten and mysterious past. He is known for portraying Stoic, principled heroes in socially conscious films such as Srimanthudu (2015), Bharat Ane Nenu (2018), and Maharshi (2019). His acting style is characterized by subtle intensity and restraint. He also appeared as the lead in numerous commercial films, namely Sarileru Neekevvaru (2020), Sarkaru Vaari Paata (2022), and Guntur Kaaram (2024). Beyond his film career, Mahesh is a humanitarian and philanthropist. He founded the Mahesh Babu Foundation, which supports underprivileged children primarily by funding life-saving congenital heart surgeries and providing financial aid to families with newborns facing heart ailments. Mahesh owns the production company named G. Mahesh Babu Entertainment, which has produced several films, including some in which he played the lead role. He also produced the biopic Major (2022).

Acting credits

Vāranāsi poster
NR

Follows Rudhra's perilous adventures as ancient Varanasi stands on the brink of catastrophe from a looming asteroid in 2027 CE, unfolding across multiple timelines and distant continents.

Vāranāsi

2027

Okkadu poster
7.8

Ajay, a fiery Kabaddi player from Hyderabad, visits Kurnool for a tournament and rescues Swapna from a faction leader Obul Reddy, who wants to force her into marriage. He secretly hides her in his home and assists her in planning her escape abroad for her higher studies. But, fate has other plans.

Okkadu

2003

Pokiri poster
7.6

Pandu is a contract killer and will accept any contract provided the amount is right. The police want him for questioning, while the underworld needs him to silence their opponents. No one really knows this assassin's background. It is only Pandu who knows his real identity, and he has no intention of sharing it with anyone.

Pokiri

2006

Sarileru Neekevvaru poster
6.0

A tough army major is deployed to Kurnool on a mission to keep the country safe from external threats.

Sarileru Neekevvaru

2020

Yuvaraju poster
7.8

A young man and his classmate fall in love with each other and decide to get married; everything goes smoothly till an unknown woman lands up at their engagement ceremony; soon the truth about his past is revealed.

Yuvaraju

2000

Athadu poster
7.8

A hitman, Nandu, is hired to stage the assassination of a politician. However, when the politician is actually killed and Nandu is framed for the murder, he assumes a dead man's identity to evade the law.

Athadu

2005

Maharshi poster
6.6

Rishi Kumar is a billionaire and the CEO of Origins, someone who has always strived for the success he now owns. His friend Ravi needs help, how will he come through?

Maharshi

2019

Khaleja poster
7.4

A village is hounded by an unknown disease, decimating its population. The village priest prophesies that God's avatar will save them. Siddha goes in search of this supernatural potential and finds it in Seetarama Raju, a cab driver.

Khaleja

2010

Anna Thammudu poster
8.0

No synopsis available yet.

Anna Thammudu

1990

Dookudu poster
6.9

To protect his father recovering from a coma, a relentless cop must pose as the political leader his father always envisioned while hunting the men who tried to kill him.

Dookudu

2011

Srimanthudu poster
6.8

Harsha, a multi-millionaire guy who has everything but there is something else he's looking for and in the process he adopts a complete village trying to bring change in the people.

Srimanthudu

2015

Athidhi poster
5.8

While the nation is terrorized by a slew of kidnappings and murders, a young woman falls in love with a mysterious man; not realizing that he is the one who went to jail for the murder of her parents, thirteen years earlier.

Athidhi

2007

Guntur Kaaram poster
5.3

Years after his mother left him and remarried, Ramana is asked to sign documents denying any relations with his mother, but he refuses and demands answer to why his mother left him.

Guntur Kaaram

2024

Spyder poster
5.3

A surveillance expert who wants to help people comes across a foe who is the very definition of evil. Can he stop the man before he destroys everything?

Spyder

2017

Businessman poster
7.1

Just as the cops have declared the end of Mafia in Mumbai, a man named Surya arrives in the city with the intentions of conquering it.

Businessman

2012

Bharat Ane Nenu poster
6.5

Bharat, a graduate from Oxford, is forced to take up his father's position as the chief minister after his sudden demise. He is not happy with the way government is functioning in the state and tries to reform the corrupt society but faces obstacles from his enemies.

Bharat Ane Nenu

2018

Seethamma Vakitlo Sirimalle Chettu poster
7.1

An exuberant and evocative family drama, that primarily revolves around the close bond between two brothers with radically different personalities, highlighting the complex process of choosing an ideal life partner for each of them.

Seethamma Vakitlo Sirimalle Chettu

2013

Arjun poster
5.7

A young man risks his life to guarantee his twin sister's happiness and protect her from murderous in-laws.

Arjun

2004

Murari poster
6.8

A family is haunted by a goddess's curse, claiming the life of a male every 48 years due to an ancestral sin.

Murari

2001

1: Nenokkadine poster
6.7

A rock star must overcome his psychological inhibitions to seek revenge for his parents' death.

1: Nenokkadine

2014

Aagadu poster
4.7

Shankar, a trigger-happy encounter specialist with a tragic past, is posted to Bokkapatnam village , to halt the illegal operations of the influential don Damodar, whose dream project is to build a power plant also with whom Shankar has a personal score to settle.

Aagadu

2014

Jalsa poster
7.0

Sanjay falls in love with Indu. Her father Rammohan Reddy doesnt approve of it and she is married to someone else. Later, Bhagyamathi falls for him and he goes to meet her father who turns out to be Rammohan Reddy. Somewhere in between Sanjay's life as a Naxal is depicted.

Jalsa

2008

Naani poster
5.9

An impulsive youngster, who is furious with his mother, seeks assistance from a scientist for a way to become an adult overnight. His wish is granted and he begins look like a 28-year-old man. How will he deal with the complexities of adulthood? How will his relationship with his mother evolve?

Naani

2004

Acharya poster
3.9

Acharya, a middle-aged Naxalite-turned-social reformer, launches a fight against the Endowments Department over misappropriation and embezzlement of temple funds and donations.

Acharya

2022

Behind the camera