The best gift Mahesh Babu fans can get

August 9 is practically a festival of sorts for Mahesh Babu fans, as the actor celebrates turning a year older that day. Over the past couple of years, re-releasing the actor’s past films has been the trend, with films like Okkadu and Murari regaling the audience with the same enthusiasm and love in 2024.

The actor has seen Guntur Kaaram release earlier this year. While the film was criticized on technical and storytelling grounds, practically fans was unanimous in their praise of Mahesh Babu.

Right now, the actor is gearing up for SSMB 29, his biggest project to date. SS Rajamouli, fresh off the heels of global success, is ready to mount the project on an unimaginably large and audacious scale. The film is set to go on floors soon. As much as the fans are overjoiced by this news, there is also one small nagging complaint.

Rajamouli is known to spend years on his films. When actors decide to work with him, they don’t take any other projects. Such are the demands placed by Rajamouli’s story and technical finesse. It took nearly half a decade to shoot Baahubali. Even when Rajamouli promised that he would finish working on RRR in an year and half, that did not happen. Instead, the project went on for two more years. Blame the pandemic or the auteur’s relentless perfectionism, it takes years for his stories to actually see the light of the day, and as a result, his actors won’t be seen for years.

Now, this is a source of bittersweet heartbreak for Mahesh Babu’s fans. They are definitely happy that he is doing the biggest project with the best director. They are happy that the actor is finally working in a film that befits his potential. But no one wants to wait 4-5 years.

There was a time when Mahesh Babu took a 3 year sabbatical from films. It was the hardest period for fans to go for so long without watching a film of their favourite superstar. It is only going to hurt fans further if SSMB 29 shoot and release schedules are going to last as long as the sabbatical Mahesh Babu took more than a decade ago.

Mahesh Babu will not be doing any film till SSMB 29 gets over. He might not even opt to do brand endorsements if Rajamouli wishes to keep his look under wraps. For how long can fans be satisfied with re-releases of Mahesh Babu’s iconic films of yore. Needless to say, SS Rajamouli has responsibilities of multiple levels and magnitudes right now. The best gift Mahesh Babu fans can get, is to see SSMB release in the next 1.5 to 2 years, without any unceremonious delays.