What do I say about p e r c e p t i o n s ?Many people including some of my media colleagues had led me to believe that Mahesh Babu, the award winning superstar, ambassador for 5 leading brands, may be ruling the roost, but getting him to talk is a project in itself. Obviously, I was blown out of my head when he turned out to be articulate, philosophical and humorous, breaking my perceptions to mithereens. Hear it first hand from the hit man of Telugu cinema as he holds forth on his life so far, brand endorsements, Khaaleja and his dreams…
“The years that I didn’t act are the ones that helped me grow as an actor. I took a break for three years. I can feel the evolution in me. Trivikram’s been echoing my sentiments ever since we began shooting for Khaaleja,” says Mahesh Babu.
All eyes are on his forthcoming film Khaaleja, which is indubitably one of the most awaited films of the season. Everybody is waiting with bated breath to see what the king of understatement, master of subdued acting, is unleashing this time around. We are in Ramoji Film City, Hyderabad, where Mahesh’s entry song is being shot. He is grooving away in a rust and white checks shirt and a pair of blue jeans. He’s sweating buckets no thanks to the humid day and the dusty location is not much help either. Trivikram, his only friend and favourite director is watching intently. Cinematographer, Yash Bhatt is shooting his first south Indian film with gusto. In the background you can see vegetable and fruit bandis and a typical Irani chai place with an interesting name `Try Luck Café.’ On his right at the far end is a store, Anu Sarees. In the same row at the other end is a Univercell banner, the brand he endorses. People have gathered around the scene to get a dekko of their favourite hero. He gets his moves right and the choreographer is happy. He says something and everybody is in splits. You can sense the easy camaraderie amongst the team. He walks towards the computer, checks out the scene on the monitor carefully and says ‘looks fine.’ He walks towards me and says, “Too much noise here. Let’s go.” And leads me to the vanity van. Once inside, I tell him how we’ve been on a chase to get him on our cover since our launch issue. He says earnestly, “Sorry, I am not a phone person at all,” pointing to the cell phone that’s lying in a corner, “I carry it to stay accessible to Namrata.” I explain, we’d actually been speaking to his wife Namrata who kept us updated from time to time, methodically and promptly. “She’s just unbelievably amazing,” he gushes belying his shy nature, “She’s made my life so much easier. Besides being a great wife and mother, she also handles all aspects of my work. I only look at the creatives. She’s also influenced my dressing. Earlier, I would be comfortable only in checks shirts and jeans but she introduced me to T shirts. Now, I quite enjoy experimenting with my look.” Quite right. His wardrobe has undergone a make- over since Athadu. Was it a conscious decision? Did Namrata play a role in that department as well? “Times are changing. You don’t need me to tell you that. Everything today is about clothes, hair, looks and appearances. For Khaaleja, Mamta Anand has designed my clothes. Namrata brought her on board and she has done a fabulous job.”
On the personal front, everybody is commenting on how he looks more at ease with himself after marriage unlike his earlier reclusive self. “Contrary to perceptions, I am not a recluse. You could call me a private guy. You could even call me shy. Even when Pokiri became this huge massive hit, I felt shy and nervous with all the attention I was getting. But calling me a recluse is a bit far-fetched, you know. The fact is I like my space. I still get uncomfortable with attention though I’m getting better with handling it thanks to Namrata. I’m not a guy who’s ever been into socialising or hanging out at night clubs. That’s not my scene. I love being at home with my family. Namrata has definitely brought out the best in me. My son has totally transformed my life. When I hear my four year old son talk, it’s like a miracle. It’s difficult to put it into words,” says the actor who’s known to be a man of few words. “I’ve been talking ad nauseum to you. I take a little longer than most people to open up. I also don’t believe in using words when silence serves a better purpose. But when words are required for communication, I can speak at length. Like I’m doing at the moment,” he flashes a smile that reaches his eyes. Who are his friends? “Trivikram from the industry.” And outside? “None,” he says. What? How’s that possible? “Yes, it’s true. I have no friends. I studied in Chennai till my B.Com. When I moved to Hyderabad, I lost touch with my friends. Not that I had many of them. Honestly, I don’t miss having friends. I am quite happy with my own company and my family’s. Either I’m working or I’m at home. Life’s blissful this way.” He may not be into socialising but he’s been easily the most active south star on Twitter. “Namrata and Blah, the celeb management company that handles my endorsements were instrumental in getting me on Twitter. They made me realise that this is the only platform where I could have a direct connection with people. Now, I really enjoy tweeting.” Some people are downright rude to stars on networking sites. How does he deal with them? “I haven’t encountered such people, luckily, so far. But if I do, I will ignore them.”
So what’s he doing in Khaaleja? “Ask what Khaaleja is doing in me,” he guffaws. “Jokes apart, you will see a brand new side of Mahesh Babu that’s never been seen before on screen. So far, I’ve played subdued, understated yet powerful roles. This is the first time my character is loud, brash, funny as hell and yet very realistic. Very natural, very convincing. I can never do anything that I’m not convinced about.” How convincing can a professional killer be like he was in Athadu? “Actually, I had trouble initially convincing myself that I can pull it off. But once the director explained the circumstances and situations, I managed to get into the skin of the character. And I think I did a fairly decent job.” Decent? That was by far one of his best on screen performances. “My personal favourite is Okkadu though,” he says. So how does he go about signing a script other than the fact that it should excite him? “I look mainly at the characterisation of my role in the context of the story. If that interests me, if it captures my imagination, I take it on.” So what goes wrong when a film doesn’t work like Sainikudu, for instance? “That was a bad film. The director is undoubtedly one of the best in the industry. Half way through the shooting of Sainikudu, I knew it wasn’t going to work. But then, you can’t abandon a project just because you stop believing in it, right? That has happened with many of my films that flopped.”
So does he change his approach when a film doesn’t deliver? “No, I don’t.” Do flops affect him? “Of course, they do. I get depressed, dejected, I go through a huge turmoil. But I have become better at handling it now. Three years of break helped me immensely.” What did he do during the break? “I saw my son grow up. I also went through deep pain. I lost my grandmother, who I was closest to and also lost my in laws. I spent loads of time with my family. I also discovered my inner strength through spiritual reading. Eckhart Tolle’s The Power of Now and New Earth have influenced me a great deal. I have, however, always been a very balanced person from day one, largely because of my father. He was a huge star with an unbelievable fan following when I was growing up. But at home, he was just my father. No star treatment, no starry airs. I think the best gift parents can give their children is grounding. I hope I can demonstrate to my son what my father did for me. I can’t thank him enough. You know, my being here today, in films is entirely due to him. Every year, we would go to Ooty for summer vacations. Every summer, he would get me to do a film. Before I realised what was going on, I had become a child star with a fan following and popularity! It is easy to get carried away and lose your head. But I have been lucky to have had a normal upbringing.”
What does he like about being a star and why does he think he has the maximum number of endorsements compared to his contemporaries? “I love the recognition, money, fame, love, success but what I love most is the creative aspect of this profession. No two days are the same. There is no scope for monotony or boredom. Yes, I love the endorsements that come my way too. At the end of the day, endorsements are based on an actor’s popularity. I hope that answers your question. Having said that, I must tell you that I accept only the products I believe in. My criteria for accepting Univercell, for instance, was based on the founder’s humble beginnings and his conviction that helped his company succeed in a big way. Thums up, the other brand I have been endorsing for some time now, is a household name and so is Amrutanjan, the newest brand in my wagon. The Provogue campaign should be out soon,” he explains grinning from ear to ear.
Would he ever do a multistarrer? “Why not? I’m open. Though I have my doubts if anybody can come up with a befitting story.” Who would be his dream co star? “Pawan Kalyan. Now, that would be interesting.” Would he ever venture into other areas of filmmaking? “Nah. Once an actor, always an actor. I’m passionate only about acting. I haven’t done anything else in my life, you see. From age 4 to now. I can’t think beyond acting.” That, we’re sure, is music to the ears of his legion of fans.
Namrata Ghattamaneni on Mahesh Babu
As an actor I think he is by far one of the best actors we have in our country. I say country because that’s how I feel truly. He is a consummate actor and gives his all to the character he portrays each time. He is totally committed to his craft. As a husband, he’s incredibly loving and truly understanding. We are the best of friends. Meeting and marrying him have been the best things that have happened to me. I am going through the happiest phase of my life. Do I have to say more? As a father, he’s the best dad in the whole world. At least that’s what Gautam and I think. He’s Gautam’s idol and nothing matters moreto him than waking up in the morning and see Gautam smile.
On KhaalejaLife is an ensemble of incidents. Man becoming God is purely incidental. According to scriptures, there is God in every human being. Daivam Manushya Rupena is the theme of the film. Mahesh Babu is a regular taxi driver, an ordinary human being who transforms into a divine incarnation when he comes face to face with an unjust incident. Honestly speaking, we started out to make a regular commercial Mahesh Babu film but it assumed a life of its own. Watch out for an entire new Mahesh Babu. He has pushed his boundaries and tackled comedy phenomenally well. He is the comedian, character artiste, item guy, action hero, lover boy all rolled into one. It has all the elements of a commercial film and yet very out of the box. Anushka brings bad luck to him throughout the film. That leads to hilarious situations. Mahesh has attempted humour for the first time. I won’t say it’s an experimental film but the treatment is definitely very unusual. There is nothing run-of-the-mill about it. Let me give you some inside news. Mahesh Babu worked with me on the script completely and closely. You can call him associate script writer. We have also tried a new camera technique. There are lengthy shorts without frequent cuts. We haven’t done anything for cinematic or dramatic convenience. Yash Bhatt, the cinematographer has done an outstanding job of using zoom in a very different way.
On Mahesh BabuLot of people talk about passion. Mahesh Babu lives it. I remember an incident during the shooting of Athadu. At 2 midnight, after Mahesh had left the set, I wanted him to come back for a retake. He had almost reached home but came back. And then he went about his work with a smile, effortlessly. There is no pressure of working with a star when you work with him. He doesn’t take his star status seriously at all. That’s his best quality as an actor. As a person, he has undergone a 180 degree transformation. Marriage has done wonders to him. He used to be extremely shy with romance before. Now he’s opened up much more. If he can speak truth he does, otherwise he doesn’t bother. The birth of his son has matured him a great deal. It has actually helped him as an actor. He’s so sure of himself now that he’s confident of his first take. His technical knowledge is superb. I think five years from now, he may be ruling Bollywood. He is a reservoir of acting stamina.
