PRINCE MAHESH BABU

BIOGRAPHY Birth name Ghattamaneni Mahesh Babu Born August 9, 1974 (age 32) Chennai, India Other name(s) Prince Spouse(s) Namrata Shirodkar Notable roles Ajay in Okkadu (2003) Seetaram in Nijam(2003) Nanda Gopal in Athadu (2005) Pandu in Pokiri (2006) BACKGROUND He is the son of Telugu actor Krishna (actor) and Indira Devi, born in Madras, Tamil Nadu and did most of his schooling and undergraduate in Madras. He has one elder brother, Ramesh, two elder sisters, Padmavathi, Manjula and one younger sister Priyadarsini. He married Bollywood actress Namrata Shirodkar.[1] in February 2005. On August 31, 2006, Mahesh and Namrata's first son was born[2] and named as Gautam Gattamaneni.. CAREER Mahesh Babu started out his movie career as a child actor in his father's films before making his debut as an actor. His debut film as a lead actor was Rajakumarudu, cast opposite Preity Zinta. His next few films such as Yuvaraju and Vamsi also helped establish Mahesh's career. But in 2001, his release Murari became a big hit and ran for 175 days. Mahesh and Sonali Bendre played the main roles of the film. However in 2002, Mahesh had a dull phase. Both releases Takkari Donga and Bobby flopped at box office.[3] In 2003, Mahesh finally got the hit he was looking for. Okkadu became one of the biggest hits in Tollywood for the year 2003. Mahesh gave an average film, Nijam, that same year. However, he won the Nandi Award for Best Actor for his performance in Nijam. In 2004, Mahesh acted in the flop, Naani, which was a remake of Tamil hit New. Arjun, which released in Summer 2004, came to be an average to above average grosser. For one year, Mahesh did not sign up for any film, as he was busy with Athadu from June 2004 to July 2005. It was a big hit both in India and overseas. In April 2006, his next movie, Pokiri became the highest grosser in the South Indian Film Industry. Mahesh's performance was applauded by even Ram Gopal Varma and Amitabh Bachchan.[4] Mahesh's recent film, Sainikudu had a tremendous opening but failed to live up to expectations and became a huge flop at boxoffice. From February 2007 onwards, Mahesh will be shooting for Athidhi[5], which will be directed by Surender Reddy. Bollywood actress Amrita Rao will playing the love interest of Mahesh. Following Athidhi is Mirchi - Chala Naatu Guru, produced by Durga Arts under the direction of Jaasti Hemamber. After this film, Mahesh will be working for Hare Rama Hare Krishna, produced by M.S. Raju and directed by Trivikram Srinivas. FILMOGRAPHY 1999: Raja Kumarudu Winner, Nandi Award for Best Male Debut 2000: Vamsi Vamsi, 2000: Yuvaraju 2001: Murari Winner, Nandi Award for Special Jury 2002: Takkari Donga 2002: Bobby Winner, Nandi Award for Special Jury 2003: Okkadu Winner, Filmfare Best Actor Award (Telugu) 2003: Nijam Winner, Nandi Award for Best Actor 2004: Naani 2004: Arjun Winner, Nandi Award for Special Jury 2005: Athadu Winner, Nandi Award for Best Actor Nomination, Filmfare Best Actor Award (Telugu) 2006: Pokiri 2006: Sainikudu 2007: Athidhi (Filming) 2007: Mirchi (Announced) 2008: Hare Rama Hare Krishna (Announced)