Mahesh Babu to make Bollywood debut

Ch Sushil Rao TNN

Hyderabad:Mahesh Babu is going places. With 17 films to his credit, the Tollywood star has thrown enough hints that he is now planning to conquer Bollywood.
Though Bollywood may not have been too kind to Tollywood's top guns, with ambitious ones like Chiranjeevi and Nagarjuna having had to beat a hasty retreat, there is a growing feeling among Ttowners that if there is one star who can make it big in BTown, it has to be Mahesh Babu for they feel he's got what it takes to strike gold at the national BO.
In fact, even the Times Most Desirable Men 2011 poll saw Mahesh Babu pip many other Bollywood hotties to storm the fifth place in the country after Salman Khan, Ranbir Kapoor, Hrithik Roshan and John Abraham. Something that even Mahesh Babu is learnt to have been thrilled about. So will the Telugu superstar succumb to the lure of Bollywood? Many industry insiders believe that in his heart of hearts Mahesh Babu is nursing Bollywood ambitions and may be keen on taking the plunge to wow audiences across India with his histrionics.
In fact, during the audio release function of his latest hit 'Businessman', when the star was asked by the film's director Puri Jaganadh if he would be willing to cross over to Mumbai, he had indicated his willingness. But soon after the release of the film he backtracked for reasons best known only to him, and hinted that a Bollywood debut may not happen soon.
But filmmaker Teja insists that "he's got the looks". And Teja should know. As a cinematographer who has canned many Bollywood flicks with the likes of Aamir Khan, Akshay Kumar, Amitabh Bachchan and Govinda among others, Teja feels Mahesh Babu fits the bill of a national superstar. "Someone like Mahesh Babu can make it big not just in Bollywood but also Hollywood. He can easily get under the skin of any character he plays," says actor Shafi, a National School of Drama (NSD) graduate who worked with Mahesh in 'Mahesh Khaleja'.
Producer K Ashok Kumar feels Mahesh Babu's charming looks have a global appeal that he should capitalize on to storm Bollywood. "From here, it is time he moved on and the responsibility of chalking out his career from here rests on his wife," says producer K Ashok Kumar. Mahesh's wife and former Miss India Namrata Shirodkar hails from Maharashtra and could play a key role in helping him navigate aBollywood career.
Mahesh Babu's Tollywood journey started in the late 90's but success did not come easily despite being a son of Tollywood superstar Krishna. In fact, in the early years of his film career when Mahesh Babu was going through a rough patch, Teja cast him in 'Nijam' as a gutsy simpleton taking on corruption. The role won Mahesh Babu a Nandi award for best actor. Soon after 'Okkadu' came along, followed by 'Pokiri' and there was no looking back since then. If his mass appeal, cutting across audiences of various age groups in Tollywood is any indication, industry insiders feel he should not face too much of an uphill task in widening his reach. Already, his star power has a host of national brands like Idea and Santoor signing him up as brand ambassador for their South campaigns.
The only thing that could perhaps be keeping Mahesh Babu from fulfilling his Bollywood ambitions is his laid back approach and reclusive nature, feel T-towners. In fact, the media-shy star is only known to surface when its time to promote his movies and withdraws into his shell soon after. "He is a bit lazy. I don't know if he has changed in recent times. If he has, then he has got the right stuff to move on," says Teja.