Mahesh Babu (Telugu: మహేష్ బాబు; born Mahesh Babu Ghattamaneni on 9 August 1975) is an Indian film actor best known for his work in Telugu cinema. Born to actor Krishna, Mahesh Babu faced the camera at the age of four as a child artist in 1979's Needa. His first leading role was in the film Rajakumarudu, which was released in August 1999.
After playing the role of a young Kabaddi player in the 2003 blockbuster film Okkadu, Mahesh continued in this vein, gaining mass appeal and appearing in many successful films such as Murari (2001), Athadu (2005), Pokiri (2006), Dookudu (2011) and Business Man (2012).
These
accomplishments, have established him as one of the most sought after
actors in Telugu Cinema. He was listed at 5th position among Times 50
Most Desirable Men for the year 2011 and at 12th place the year before.Mahesh Babu has worked in nine films as a child artist and in seventeen films as a lead actor till date. He has won six Andhra Pradesh state Nandi Awards, two Filmfare Best Telugu Actor Awards and two CineMAA Awards. In addition to the films, he also endorses several brands such as Thums Up, Navratna Oil, Univercell, Amrutanjan, Provogue, Idea, Vivel, Jos Alukkas and Santoor Soap in Andhra Pradesh.
Early life
Mahesh
Babu was born in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, to prominent Telugu Cinema Actor
Ghatamaneni Siva Rama Krishna and Smt. Indira Devi on August 9, 1975. He
is the younger brother of actor turned producer Ramesh Babu
Ghattamaneni. He also has two elder sisters, Padmavathi and
actress-producer Manjula Ghattamaneni and one younger sister
Priyadarshini. All siblings have the rare honor of having acted in films
as child
artistes. Mahesh’s childhood was spent mostly in Madras under the care
of his paternal grandmother Smt. Durgamma and the rest of his family.
His father made sure all the children spent sufficient time with him on
location and on his sets, especially during holidays. Mahesh many times
said that this was where his interest for acting began. The film sets
were a second playground and he did not hesitate to face
the camera when asked to do a small role in his brother Ramesh Babu‘s
debut film, Needa at the age of 4. Mahesh studied at St. Bede‘s
School in Chennai while continuing to attend his dad’s filming during
holidays. Few of his schoolmates at St.Bede's were Surya (Tamil film
actor) and Vishnuvardhan (Tamil film director). Mahesh obtained an
Honours Degree in Commerce from Loyola College, Chennai. Mahesh Babu
acted in seven of his father's films as a child actor.
Personal life
Mahesh dated Bollywood actress and former Femina Miss India Namrata Shirodkar for five years. She was his co-star in the movie Vamsi. They got married on February 10, 2005 in Mumbai. They have a son named Gautam Krishna (b. 31 August 2006).Career
Early Career (1979-1990)
He started his acting career by playing a small role in his brother Ramesh Babu‘s debut film, Needa
under Dr. Dasari Narayana Rao's direction in 1979, at the age of 4 In
1983, at the age of 8, director Kodi Ramakrishna requested him to play a
role in the film Poratam since they were having difficulty
casting for the role of Krishna’s sibling. This was his first full
length feature film. Producer / Director Dhoondy, one of the early
backers of Krishna in his
struggling days, watched a preview of the movie and was stunned to find
out he was Krishna’s own son and remarked that there was a spark in him
and he would become an excellent artist. True to that prognostication,
Mahesh went on to win the hearts of many
Telugu film lovers as a child artist through varied roles. In Sankharavam
(1987) he faced the cameras with his father directing him for the first
time. Veteran director A. Kodandarami Reddy directed him and his
brother Ramesh for Bazaar Rowdy (1988), where he won accolades for his acting. Mugguru Kodukulu (1988) saw him again team up with his brother and father, the father directing them all this time.Gudachari 117
(1989) reunited Mahesh with his first film director Kodi Ramakrishna in
a James Bond type of flick for which his dad, the lead in the movie,
was famous. Koduku Diddina Kapuram (1989), directed by Krishna again, had Mahesh in a dual role. Balachandrudu and Anna Tammudu
(1990) saw the teenaged Mahesh Babu completing his first innings on
celluloid after which he concentrated on his studies and went out of the
public eye while letting nature take its course through the awkward
adolescent years.1999-2004
In 2001, his successful movie Murari, Directed by Krishna Vamsi and co-starring Sonali Bendre, was released and earned Mahesh plaudits from all sections of audience and from critics. He bagged a Nandi Special Jury Award for his performance in the film. Takkari Donga, produced and directed by Jayanth C. Paranjee was released in 2002, where Mahesh essayed the role of a cowboy.The role and the movie were meant to honor the legacy of Krishna as the first ever Indian cowboy and also the first Indian cowboy movie Mosagallaku Mosagadu. His untiring effort in the movie led to another Nandi Special Jury Award, He had another release in that year, Bobby. Mahesh was paired along Aarthi Agarwal in this movie which was directed by Sobhan. Mahesh was next seen in Okkadu directed by Gunasekhar and co-starring Bhoomika Chawla, the movie was produced by M.S. Raju. This movie was released in 2003 and it remains as a landmark film in Mahesh Babu's career. He won his first Filmfare Best Actor Award (Telugu) for this movie. His next movie Nijam co-starring Rakshita was directed by Teja. Mahesh‘s performance acquired him the prestigious Nandi Award for Best Actor. In 2004, he worked with director S. J. Suryaah and had paired with Amisha Patel for the movie Naani. This movie was produced by his sister Manjula Ghattamaneni. The same year also had Mahesh again collaborating with Gunasekhar for his next movie Arjun which was produced by his brother G. Ramesh Babu. He received a Nandi Special Jury Award for his emotional performance in the film.
2005-2010
In
2005, Mahesh married Namrata Shirodkar after being in a relationship
with her for almost 5 years. The year also saw the first release after
his marriage and Trivikram Srinivas’s second directorial venture, Athadu. He
was paired alongside with Trisha Krishnan. Mahesh once again achieved
critical acclaim for his performance in the movie and also earned
himself the Nandi Award for Best Actor for the second time. Pokiri,
produced jointly by his sister Manjula Ghattamaneni and Vaishno Academy
and directed by Puri Jagannadh was the highest grossing Telugu film of
the year. The movie saw him paired alongside with Ileana D'Cruz. Pokiri
was a success in AP as well as other states and overseas. The film
completed 100 days in as many as 200 centres in Andhra Pradesh and
completed silver jubilee in a record 63 centres. Mahesh earned his
second Filmfare award for this movie.
The year also saw Mahesh working again with Director Gunasekhar and actress Trisha Krishnan for the movie Sainikudu.
In 2007, for his next venture Mahesh embraced corporate film making in
Telugu Film Industry. He collaborated with UTV and with young director
Surender Reddy for Athidi which made him the first corporate hero
in Telugu Film Industry. He was paired along side Amrita Rao. After
Athidi, Mahesh devoted more time to family matters with a new
toddler to spend time with, supporting and helping Namrata cope with her
father’s illness and then his death, followed by Namrata’s mother’s
bout with cancer and her death. In 2008, Mahesh lent his voice for the
film Jalsa, directed by his friend Trivikram Srinivas. In 2009 Mahesh
started working on a movie with Trivikram Srinivas as director. In 2010,
after a 3 year long hiatus Mahesh returned to the silver screen with
the movie Khaaleja. Directed by his friend Trivikram Srinivas,
the movie languished in development hell due to production problem. and
the telangana agitations. Upon release, the movie received mixed reviews
and also became one of the highest grossing Telugu films overseas. The
year also saw Mahesh embracing social networking site Twitter to
interact with his fans.2011–Present
In 2011, Mahesh's film Dookudu
co–starring Samantha Ruth Prabhu was released. Directed by Srinu Vaitla
and was produced by 14 Reels Entertainment, it broke many records in
the Telugu film industry upon release by taking the largest worldwide
opening, earning 
21.2
crores in 3 days, and becoming the highest grossing Telugu film
overseas by earning 1.5 million dollars in the first weekend. The film
set a box office record for the Telugu film industry by collecting a
gross of more than 1 billion and completed a successful run in 312 centers after 50 days. CNN-IBN for the year 2011, declared him as the Actor of the Year and Dookudu as the Hit of the Year in a survey conducted for Telugu films. Mahesh began shooting for Business Man
co–starring Kajal Aggarwal. The film was directed by Puri Jagannadh and
produced by RR Movie Makers, releasing worldwide on January 13, 2012.
Similar to his previous release, it took the largest worldwide opening by collecting 18.73 crores on the first day and 62.93
crores worldwide in the first week. For the first time in his career,
Mahesh along with the director Puri Jagannadh lent his vocals for a song
in the project. According to certain reports, Mahesh emerged as the
highest paid actor in South India after Rajnikanth. He was listed 5th in
the Times survey of the 50 Most Desirable Men in
India, becoming the only South Indian to have been done so. His next
venture is a multi–starrer Seethamma Vakitlo Sirimalle Chettu
under the direction of Srikanth Addala. Being produced by Dil Raju, it
also stars Daggubati Venkatesh in a leading role. The film was
officially launched on October 6, 2011 and the filming began on January
18, 2012.He has also signed up for a role in a film under the direction
of Sukumar. The film will be produced by 14 Reels Entertainment and was
launched on 12 February 2012. He also hired Hollywood trainer Mike Ryan
as his personal trainer.| Year | Title | Role(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | Needa | Child Artist | |
| 1983 | Poratam | Child Artist | |
| 1987 | Sankharavam | Child Artist | |
| 1988 | Bazaar Rowdy | Mahesh | Child Artist |
| 1988 | Mugguru Kodukulu | Child Artist | |
| 1989 | Gudachari 117 | Chinna | Child Artist |
| 1989 | Koduku Diddina Kapuram | Vinod / Pramod | Child Artist (Dual Role) |
| 1990 | Anna Thammudu | Child Artist | |
| 1990 | Bala Chandrudu | Chandu | Child Artist |
| 1999 | Raja Kumarudu | Raja | Nandi Award for Best Male Debut |
| 2000 | Yuvaraju | Srinivas | |
| 2000 | Vamsi | Vamsi | |
| 2001 | Murari | Murari | Nandi Special Jury Award |
| 2002 | Takkari Donga | Raju | Nandi Special Jury Award |
| 2002 | Bobby | Bobby | |
| 2003 | Okkadu | Ajay Varma | Filmfare Best Actor Award (Telugu) |
| 2003 | Nijam | G.Seetaram | Nandi Award for Best Actor |
| 2004 | Naani | Naani | |
| 2004 | Arjun | Arjun | Nandi Special Jury Award |
| 2005 | Athadu | Nanda Gopal/Parthu | Nandi Award for Best Actor |
| 2006 | Pokiri | Pandu (Krishna Manohar) | Filmfare Best Actor Award (Telugu) |
| 2006 | Sainikudu | Siddhartha | |
| 2007 | Athidhi | Athidhi | |
| 2008 | Jalsa | Narrator | Voice |
| 2010 | Khaleja | Seetharama Raju | |
| 2011 | Dookudu | G. Ajay Kumar | |
| 2012 | Business Man | Vijay Surya | |
| 2012 | Seethamma Vakitlo Sirimalle Chettu | Filming | |
| 2013 | Sukumar's Untitled Project | Pre-production |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Category | Film | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Nandi Awards | Nandi Award for Best Male Debut | Raja Kumarudu | Won |
| 2001 | Nandi Awards | Nandi Special Jury Award | Murari | Won |
| 2002 | Nandi Awards | Nandi Special Jury Award | Takkari Donga | Won |
| 2003 | Filmfare Awards South | Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Telugu | Okkadu | Won |
| 2003 | CineMAA Awards | CineMAA Award for Best Actor - Male | Okkadu | Won |
| 2003 | Santosham Film Awards | Santosham Best Young Performers Award | Okkadu | Won |
| 2003 | AP Cinegoer's Association Awards | Best Actor | Okkadu | Won |
| 2003 | Nandi Awards | Nandi Award for Best Actor | Nijam | Won |
| 2004 | Nandi Awards | Nandi Special Jury Award | Arjun | Won |
| 2005 | Nandi Awards | Nandi Award for Best Actor | Athadu | Won |
| 2005 | Vamsee Film Awards | Best Actor - N T R Swarna Kankanam | Athadu | Won |
| 2006 | Filmfare Awards South | Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Telugu | Pokiri | Won |
| 2006 | CineMAA Awards | CineMAA Award for Best Actor - Male | Pokiri | Won |
| 2006 | Santosham Film Awards | Santosham Best Actor Award | Pokiri | Won |
| 2006 | Vamsee Film Awards | Best Actor - N T R Swarna Kankanam | Pokiri | Won |
| 2007 | CineMAA Awards | CineMAA Award for Best Actor - Male | Athidi | Nominated |
| 2007 | Santosham Film Awards | Santosham Best Actor Award | Athidi | Nominated |
| 2007 | Vamsee Film Awards | Best Actor - N T R Swarna Kankanam | Athidi | Won |
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