Mahesh Babu is regarded as the prince of Tollywood. This IIFA winning actor is known for his philanthropic activities also. He took a three years break when he was at the peak of his career. He came back in 2011 with the film Dookudu that had the largest opening for a Telugu film. In an interview with Anupama Chopra, Mahesh Babu revealed the true reason for him to take such a long break.
Mahesh Babu said, “I literally took a three-year break because I couldn’t handle it. Just the pressure.. I delivered one of the biggest hits of that time called Pokiri. It was a phenomenal blockbuster at that time. So it just took me to another level (Athidhi). My grandmother was very close to me..I lost her.. Namrata’s parents passed away at the same year. So everything was happening at that time.”
He was also confused about what films he should do after Athidhi became a flop. As he said, “I didn’t know what films to do, what kind of performances to come up, how to satisfy my fans.. so it was a whole kind of confusion happening. My son was there, who is eight months old..so I said I will take a six-month break.. that six-month break became three years.. I learned a lot at that time.. matured and then I knew what to do exactly.”
Mahesh Babu admitted that his wife Namrata was worried about him not working. But money was never a problem. He explained why, “Some magic happened in those three years.. I started signing a lot of brands. Telugu actors to do endorsements at that time was very new. No one did it. So I was one of the first actors. I ended up signing 12 endorsements or so in that period. Moneywise we were fine secured.. We built a house with the ad money during that time”,
After coming back, Mahesh Babu has been doing films continuously, without taking such a break again.
