Mahesh Babu

Ghattamaneni Mahesh Babu is an Indian film actor, producer, voice actor, and philanthropist primarily active in Telugu cinema. Recognized in the media as "Superstar," he is ranked among the highest-earning performers in Indian cinema and was featured on Forbes India's Celebrity 100 list from 2012 to 2025. Across a career spanning over 30 feature films, he has earned numerous accolades, including nine Nandi Awards, five Filmfare Awards South, and four SIIMA Awards.

Born on 9 August 1975 in Madras, Tamil Nadu, Mahesh Babu is the fourth of five children born to Telugu actor Krishna and his wife Indira. His family roots trace back to Burripalem in the Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh. He spent much of his upbringing in Madras under the care of his maternal grandmother, Durgamma. He completed his early education at St. Bede's Anglo Indian Higher Secondary School and earned a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Loyola College in Chennai.

Mahesh Babu began performing at age four with an appearance as a child actor in the Telugu movie Needa (1979). He subsequently appeared in various child roles through the 1980s and early 1990s, including Poratam, Sankharavam, Bazaar Rowdy, Mugguru Kodukulu, Gudachari 117, Koduku Diddina Kapuram—in which he portrayed dual roles—Bala Chandrudu, and Anna Thammudu. He made his transition to lead roles with the romantic comedy Rajakumarudu (1999), a performance that earned him the Nandi Award for Best Male Debut.

His career breakthrough came with the supernatural drama Murari (2001) and the action feature Okkadu (2003), earning his first Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Telugu for the latter. He followed this with acclaimed performances in Nijam (2003), winning his first Nandi Award for Best Actor, as well as major commercial releases such as Athadu (2005) and Pokiri (2006). After appearing in Athidhi (2007), he took an extended hiatus from acting before returning to the screen in Khaleja (2010).

In 2011, Mahesh Babu starred in the action comedy Dookudu, a high-grossing film that earned him Filmfare, Nandi, and SIIMA awards for Best Actor. He sustained his stardom with prominent roles in Businessman (2012), the ensemble drama Seethamma Vakitlo Sirimalle Chettu (2013), 1: Nenokkadine (2014), and Srimanthudu (2015), the latter marking his debut as a co-producer under his company, G. Mahesh Babu Entertainment. His subsequent projects included his Tamil debut in the bilingual film Spyder (2017), the political drama Bharat Ane Nenu (2018), and Maharshi (2019).

Beyond film production, Mahesh Babu is involved in philanthropic and business ventures. He established the Mahesh Babu Foundation to fund life-saving congenital heart surgeries for children, serves as a goodwill ambassador for Rainbow Hospitals, and adopted his ancestral village of Burripalem. In 2018, he partnered with Asian Group to enter the film exhibition sector, opening the AMB Cinemas multiplex in Hyderabad followed by an facility in Bengaluru. He is married to actress Namrata Shirodkar.