Mahesh Babu

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. He went on to act as a child artist in the films Sankharavam (1987), Bazaar Rowdy (1988), Mugguru Kodukulu (1988) and Gudachari 117 (1989). He played a dual role in the film Koduku Diddina Kapuram (1989). Babu then appeared in Bala Chandrudu (1990), and Anna Thammudu (1990).

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. He also starred in Krishna Vamsi's Murari (2001) which he regarded as an important film in his career and the role he played in it one of his favourites. 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 had two film releases in 2003, the first one being Gunasekhar's Okkadu co-starring Bhumika Chawla. 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.

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's 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. The movie collected a share of ₹22 crores at the box office. Idlebrain.com gave it a rating of 3.25/5 and mentioned Mahesh 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, 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". He won his second Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Telugu for his performance in the film. 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 Mahesh Babu's's brother Ramesh. 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". In 2008, Babu provided voice-over for the film Jalsa directed by Trivikram Srinivas.

After Athidhi's 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 mixed reviews from critics and 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.

In 2011, Babu collaborated with Srinu Vaitla for the film Dookudu along with 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's 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's 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) co-starring 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 Mahesh 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 acted in the film Brahmotsavam co-starring 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 Mahesh 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".

His next film was the political action drama Bharat Ane Nenu in 2018 where he played the role of a chief minister. 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. Hemanth Kumar of Firstpost mentioned the film owes a lot to Mahesh 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.

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, 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. He next began filming for Sarkaru Vaari Paata, marking his maiden collaboration with director Parasuram in January 2021. The film was released in May 2022 to mixed reviews from critics. Balakrishna Ganeshan of The News Minute gave the film a rating of 3/5 stars and 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. If only Keerty Suresh could say the same.

In 2024, Babu reunited with Trivikram Srinivas for their third collaboration in the film Guntur Kaaram. The movie was a financial failure and received mostly negative reviews, but Babu's performance was praised. His next film will be with S. S. Rajamouli, with filming set to start in late 2024 or early 2025.

Babu is widely referred in the media as "Superstar of Tollywood", and "Prince Mahesh Babu". He is the second most searched Google actor in South India for the year 2022..He is also the sixth most searched South Indian actor of the year 2023 in Google. He was ranked twelfth on the Times' 50 Most Desirable Men in India for the year 2010, fifth in 2011, and second in 2012. He climbed to the first position of the same list for the year 2013. He stood at sixth place on the same list for the year 2014, sixth in 2015, seventh in 2016, and sixth in 2017.

Babu stood in 31st place on Forbes India's Celebrity 100 list for the year 2012, with annual earnings of ₹42.25 crore. He slipped to 54th place on the same list for the year 2013, with his annual earnings dropping to ₹28.96 crore. In the following year, he climbed to the 30th position with an annual earning figure of ₹51 crore. In 2015, he placed 36th, the highest ranking Telugu celebrity, with an income of ₹51 crore. He was placed 37th, 33rd and 54th consecutively in the years leading up to 2019 with an annual earning of ₹35 crore.

In 2019, his wax statue was unveiled in Madame Tussauds Singapore. Hindustan Times reported that he was the first Telugu actor to get a wax statue at Madame Tussauds. He was also the first Indian actor whose wax statue was flown back for a day for unveiling at his hometown.

His popularity has been documented in several Telugu films such as Ashta Chamma (2008), Kiraak (2014), and Superstar Kidnap (2015). He joined Twitter in April 2010 and has 13 million followers as of April 2023.