Mahesh Babu Turns 44 – 5 Most Iconic Performances Of The Superstar

Mahesh Babu—the name itself does not need an introduction to Indian cinegoers. There was a time before the advent of star actors like Vijay Deverakonda, when Mahesh was the poster boy of Tollywood, outside the film industry.
As the Sarileru Neekevvaru star turns 44 today, on August 9th, 2019, we have a look at five of his most iconic performances ever, which made his name reach millions across the world.
1. Okkadu (2003)

Mahesh Babu’s ticket to pan South Indian fame, is undoubtedly Okkadu. Gunasekhar directed this family drama, which gave Mahesh a pan Indian fame as an actor who displayed heroism without being loud and verbose on screen. The movie became a cult one and led to many remakes in Hindi, Tamil, Bengali and Kannada.
2. Nijam (2003)

The never say die story of a Brahmin youth who avenges the death of his father, presented Mahesh in a different look and his performance was topnotch. Nijam also won him his first Nandi Award for Best Actor. The movie directed by maverick director Teja and remains a fond memory for Mahesh Babu’s fans as one of his top performances. An interesting tidbit about Nijam is the fact it was directly dubbed into Tamil, Bengali Hindi and Bhojpuri and was remade in Odia.
3. Arjun (2004)

A modern take on brother-sister bond, this Gunasekhar directorial is a must watch for Mahesh’s fans. The cherubic youth which Mahesh exuded in playing a responsible brother to his sister was phenomenal. Arjun is noted for its ensemble cast and great storyline.
4. Pokiri (2006)

The movie which sealed Mahesh’s place as the superstar of India is Pokiri. The action drama of Puri Jagannath presented Mahesh in a total mass getup and the movie set up record sales for a Mahesh movie. It was also remade into many languages including Tamil, Hindi and Kannada. Most importantly, the remakes of the movie relaunched the careers of Bollywood star Salman Khan and Tamil star Vijay.
5. 1: Nenokkadine (2014)

The movie, directed by Sukumar, is noted for its psychological theme. Mahesh Babu played a schizophrenic patient, who also is a rockstar searching for the elusive murderer of his parents. The movie is noted for a subtle performance by Mahesh Babu and is considered a must watch for his fans and the general audience. Mahesh’s performance was so impeccable, the movie got dubbed into Tamil, Malayalam and Hindi, with the intention of a pan South Indian audience getting to watch his performance.

With his new movie, Sarileru Neekevvaru, ready to hit the screens in January 2020, Mahesh’s status as an international star is growing and how! The Madame Tussauds idol of the star is a strong testimony to this.

We wish a happy 44th birthday to Superstar Mahesh Babu.