Early career and breakthrough (1979–2003) At the age of four, Babu visited the sets of the Telugu film
Needa (1979) where its director
Dasari Narayana Rao shot a few sequences of his as a part of the narrative in the presence of the former's brother Ramesh.
Needa marked his debut as a child actor. In 1983, he acted in
Poratam (1983) upon being requested by its director
Kodi Ramakrishna. In 1999, Babu made his debut as a lead actor with the romantic comedy
Rajakumarudu, and people began referring to him with the title Prince. For his performance, he received the Nandi Award for Best Male Debut. He starred in two films the following year –
Yuvaraju and
Vamsi, where he was paired opposite
Namrata Shirodkar. He also starred in
Krishna Vamsi Murari (2001) opposite
Sonali Bendre, which he regarded as an important film in his career. For his role in
Murari, he earned a
Nandi Special Jury Award, in addition to his first nomination for the
Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Telugu. In 2002, his performance in
Takkari Donga landed him his second Nandi Special Jury Award. He won his first Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Telugu for his performance in the film. The other release was
Nijam co-starring
Rakshita. Babu received praise from critics for his performance in the film, with Vijayalaxmi of
Rediff.com calling him the only reason to watch the film's second half which she termed "a routine tale of vendetta". He won his first
Nandi Award for Best Actor for his performance in the film, in addition to his third nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Telugu.
Mainstream film and commercial success (2004–2010) In 2004, Manjula produced his next film,
Naani, directed by
S. J. Surya co-starring
Amisha Patel. While its simultaneously shot Tamil version
New featuring a different cast proved to be commercially successful,
Naani flopped at the box office. He received his third Nandi Special Jury Award for his performance in his next film,
Arjun, directed by Gunasekhar and produced by Ramesh. The film released on 18 August 2004 and was successful at the box-office. The film was screened at the
International Film Festival of India in the mainstream section. This was Keerthi Reddy's final acting performance prior to her retirement from the film industry. He chose to act in
Trivikram Srinivas Athadu (2005), co-starring
Trisha Krishnan, whose script had been approved back in 2002 before the production of
Naani and
Arjun had begun. It emerged as one of the highest-grossing films of the year. The film proved to be a major boost for Babu's career as he received his fourth nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Telugu, in addition to fetching his second Nandi Award for Best Actor for his performance in the role of a hired assassin.
Idlebrain.com gave it a rating of 3.25/5 and mentioned Babu is stylish and brilliant as professional killer.
Cinegoer.net gave a review stating, "True the film gives an image of a
Hollywood base for the drama. Even the taking, screenplay structure and execution of scenes, less talk and more action. He then collaborated with
Puri Jagannadh in 2006 for the film
Pokiri opposite
Ileana D'Cruz, which was jointly produced by Jagannadh and Manjula. He received high praise for his performance, with Y. Sunita Chowdary of
The Hindu opining that "Mahesh's understated performance in
Pokiri allows him effortlessly to reclaim the title of a star, overshadowing his questionable career choices of late". That same year, his next film,
Sainikudu, was released. A critic from
Rediff.com wrote that "Nonetheless,
Sainikudu can be watched at least for its premise of letting the warrior in each individual surface, and the fact that it is done with the idea of motivating people to do something for their fellow humans". The following year saw Babu acting in the film
Athidhi, co-starring
Amrita Rao, marking her Telugu debut. The film was produced by Babu's brother Ramesh Babu. UTV Motion Pictures acquired the film's distribution rights for 18.5 crore, which became its first Telugu film venture. Jeevi of
Idlebrain.com praised the film's first half while criticising the last thirty minutes of the film. A critic from
Rediff.com wrote that the film "is built up through a 'racy' screenplay which is gripping to an extent, but stretches to three long hours". After
Athidhi release, Babu took a break from films for seven months; two months later, he signed
Khaleja, but the break was unintentionally extended for two years due to several delays. During this time, Babu's grandmother and his wife Namrata's parents died. Krishna was worried about Babu's career as the film's shoot was delayed for so long. The film deals with
illegal-mining in India, and related environmental damage. It marks Babu's return as an actor after a three-year hiatus in his second collaboration with Trivikram after
Athadu. Upon release,
Khaleja received positive reviews from critics but was a commercial failure in India. However, it managed to perform well at the overseas box office becoming the highest grossing Telugu film at that time.
Rediff gave a 3 out of 5 rating and noted "The duo of Mahesh-Trivikram delivers a product that is watchable, entertaining with good humour, couple of well-orchestrated action sequences and songs and with a bit to take home as well. It's Mahesh's show all the way, much to the delight of his fans. Mahesh is the soul of the movie, be it his dialogue delivery, his action, his dances or emotions, he is effortless. The film is included in the list of "25 Greatest Telugu Films Of The Decade" by
Film Companion.
Established actor and stardom (2011–2017) In 2011, Babu collaborated with
Srinu Vaitla for the film
Dookudu opposite
Samantha Ruth Prabhu. For his performance in the film, Babu won his third Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Telugu, his third Nandi Award for Best Actor, and his first
SIIMA Award for Best Actor (Telugu). After the film's gross crossed the 100 crore mark making it the highest-grossing Telugu film of that year. The Income Tax Department officials conducted a raid on Babu's
Jubilee Hills residence as he was rumoured of receiving a remuneration of more than 12 crore for his next projects. He later played the role of a
mafia kingpin with a hidden personal agenda in the film
Businessman (2012), co-starring
Kajal Aggarwal. Upon the film's release, he received praise from critics for his performance in the film, with Y. Sunita Chowdary of
The Hindu writing, "The film has no frills, no vulgar wastage and the hero is practically in every frame; you hear only his voice, he looks good, sounds good, he also steals the comedian's job. Mahesh plays it straight". He received his seventh nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Telugu and his second nomination for the SIIMA Award for Best Actor (Telugu) for his performance in the film. By then, Babu was reported to be the second highest-paid actor in
South India after
Rajinikanth. Babu then began filming for
Srikanth Addala Seethamma Vakitlo Sirimalle Chettu (2013), whose script Babu had approved during the pre-production phase of
Dookudu. Co-starring
Daggubati Venkatesh along with
Anjali and
Samantha Ruth Prabhu, it became the first Telugu
multistarrer film to be produced in the last twenty-five years. Released in January 2013, the film became one of the highest grossing Telugu films of the year and marked the completion of Babu's hat-trick of successful films. Sangeetha Devi Dundoo of
The Hindu called the film a "delightful family drama with its celebration of family bonds, love and marriage laced with laughter", and Addala "wants to leave his audience with a thought, wants them to reflect on their relationships and overlook skirmishes that can sour family bonds". Dundoo cited Guhan's cinematography as one of the film's highlights, and praised its performances. He won his fourth Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Telugu and his second SIIMA Award for Best Actor (Telugu) for his performance in the film. He provided a voice-over for Srinu Vaitla's
Baadshah the same year. Babu had two releases in 2014, the first one being
Sukumar 1: Nenokkadine, an action thriller focusing on a celebrity suffering from hallucinations related to the murder of his parents and the discovery of a special variety of rice. Babu's performance received praise, with critics calling it one of his best performances. For his performance, he received his fourth nomination for the SIIMA Award for Best Actor (Telugu). Babu collaborated with
Koratala Siva for the action drama film
Srimanthudu (2015) opposite
Shruti Haasan. He co-produced the film under his newly formed banner
G. Mahesh Babu Entertainment Pvt. Ltd, marking his first film production venture. He opted to do so to control the film's budget, accepting a share in profits in lieu of remuneration. Released on 7 August 2015,
Srimanthudu opened to positive reviews from critics, and he won his fifth Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Telugu for the film. Sethumadhavan N. of
Bangalore Mirror stated,
Srimanthudu wouldn't have been as effective if it did not have Babu who is at his charming best, adding that he "underplays the emotional scenes, making them a treat to watch". Babu also adopted his native village,
Burripalem. Babu won third SIIMA award for best actor for his performance in the film. In 2016, he appeared in
Brahmotsavam opposite Kajal Aggarwal, Samantha Ruth Prabhu and
Pranitha Subhash. Originally produced as a bi-lingual, the film would've marked Babu's first straight-out Tamil film. While the film underperformed at the
box office, the
Deccan Chronicle stated that Babu was its saving grace. He later appeared in the Telugu-Tamil bilingual
Spyder (2017), directed by
A. R. Murugadoss, which finally marked his Tamil cinema debut and grossed over ₹118 crores at the box office. The film received mixed reviews, with praise for the cast performances, but criticism for its writing, screenplay and direction. Y. Sunita Chowdary of
The Hindu stated that "
Spyder starts off well but the director's imagination goes overboard only to turn a purpose ridden plot to a piece of travesty".
Continued success and career fluctuation (2018–present) Babu's next film was the political action drama
Bharat Ane Nenu in 2018 where he played the role of a chief minister opposite
Kiara Advani. His performance in the film earned him his tenth nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Telugu. His next film was
Maharshi in 2019 opposite
Pooja Hegde. Hemanth Kumar of
Firstpost mentioned the film owes a lot to Babu's conviction to pull off his role and he makes you believe in his characterisation so much that it doesn't feel like fiction. Both the films were commercial success and ranks among the highest grossing Telugu films of their respective years. After the release of the film, the concept of weekend farming (also known as weekend agriculture) gained more attention. A new
internet challenge. i.e. Agriculture Challenge was started, with several people do farming in the weekends.
The Statesman reported that the film has created a social impact on the youth and raised awareness about the issues faced by farmers in the rural heartland. In February 2020,
Rajiv Gandhi University of Knowledge Technologies organised the contest "Campus Farming". 250 students of the university participated in this contest. Babu performed in the 2020 film
Sarileru Neekevvaru opposite
Rashmika Mandanna, earning him an eleventh nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Telugu. The satellite rights of the film were sold to
Gemini TV, which premiered it on 25 March 2020 for the first time on eve of
Ugadi and in its first Television premier movie recorded a
TRP of 23.4. Neeshita Nyayapati stated that Babu did a "good job of playing a man who will serve the country, crack jokes and protect". The film was a major commercial success, ranking as
one of the highest grossing Telugu films of all time. It remains Babu's highest grossing release. With no film in 2021, Babu's next film
Sarkaru Vaari Paata, marking his maiden collaboration with director
Parasuram, was released in 2022, opposite
Keerthy Suresh. The film was released in May 2022 to mixed reviews from critics. Balakrishna Ganeshan of
The News Minute wrote "It is great to see Mahesh Babu shedding his macho image and wooing a woman in the film. Mahesh is a delight to watch in these scenes. His comic timing and dialogue delivery are on point". Haricharan Pudipeddi of the
Hindustan Times stated "Mahesh Babu offers something fresh in his latest film." A commercial success, it was one of the year's highest grossing films. Babu then produced
Major under by
G. Mahesh Babu Entertainment, a film based on the life of
Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan who was martyred in action in the
2008 Mumbai attacks, in the same year. With no release in 2023, Babu reunited with
Trivikram Srinivas for their third collaboration in the film
Guntur Kaaram, opposite
Sreeleela, which was released in 2024. The movie was a financial failure and received mostly negative reviews, but Babu's performance was praised. Although his performance in the song "
Kurchi Madathapetti" was widely appreciated. Babu will next appear in
S. S. Rajamouli's film
Varanasi, which is scheduled for 2027 release. He also stars alongside
Priyanka Chopra and
Prithviraj Sukumaran in the film. == Philanthropy ==