Mahesh Babu’s Bollywood absence: Rahul Dev reveals the truth

Famous Telugu film industry actor Mahesh Babu has appeared in a number of successful projects, amassing a significant following for his Hindi-dubbed films despite never taking on a full Hindi movie role.

Addressing the matter publicly, he once joked, “Bollywood can’t afford me.” Regarding this, Rahul Dev—who co-starred with him in the 2002 Western-style action film Takkari Donga—recently offered fresh remarks disclosing why Mahesh avoids Hindi cinema.

In an interview with Hindi Rush, Rahul discussed Mahesh’s previous collaborations with filmmaker Trivikram Srinivas. He noted how their partnership resonated with sensible audiences, cementing Mahesh’s status as a superstar in Telugu cinema.

“Director Srinivas is a very sensible director. Mahesh Babu was his first choice for several years, and they did many films together. They merge commercial appeal with sensibility; that specific genre is missing in Hindi cinema. In Hindi, you have Ram Gopal Varma’s style or the kind of things Anurag Kashyap writes on one extreme and remakes of Hollywood films on the other,” Rahul explained.

However, when asked about Mahesh’s past remark that “Bollywood can’t afford me,” Rahul responded with a wink, saying, “He doesn’t know how to speak the language—that’s the truth.”

Earlier this year, global Indian icon Priyanka Chopra stole the show at the event, where the official title of S.S. Rajamouli’s upcoming movie, Varanasi, was announced during the GlobeTrotter gathering in Hyderabad.

The party, which was hosted at Ramoji Film City, gathered over 50,000 admirers hoping to catch a peek of the Bollywood diva in her much-anticipated return to Indian cinema.

Hollywood face Priyanka Chopra looked stunning wearing a white lehenga along with beautiful jewelry, welcoming the audience with a graceful namaste.

However, the actress could not help but compliment Mahesh Babu, referring to him as “MB, the incredible, the legendary Mahesh Babu” on the stage.