When students paused writing exams to stare at Varanasi star Mahesh Babu, police had to intervene

Satyadev recounted a memory with Mahesh Babu at an event for Rao Bahadur. Here's what he said about working with the star.

Actor Mahesh Babu might be 50, but he’s still considered one of the best-looking stars in Tollywood. At an event for his upcoming film, Rao Bahadur, Satyadev spoke about his long association with Mahesh, who is presenting the film. He revealed that once, when they were shooting, filming had to be paused, and the police intervened as students were too distracted by the Varanasi star.

Mahesh Babu will soon star in SS Rajamouli's Varanasi.

When Mahesh Babu distracted students from writing exams

Satyadev went down memory lane and said at the event, “We were shooting in SR Nagar on top of a building. The shot shows four friends talking. The traffic was blocked, and students who were writing inter (11th and 12th standard) exams kept staring out of the window. It was like chaos, like nothing I had ever seen before. An actor was delivering dialogue with his hand on my shoulder. The reason for all this happening was Mahesh Babu.”

He then added that the movie they were shooting for was Seethamma Vakitlo Sirimalle Chettu (2013), adding, “I acted as Mahesh’s friend in the film. I told the whole town that Mahesh put his arm on my shoulder while talking to me. After I spread the news everywhere, the scene was removed from the film. It happens. My friends didn’t believe me; thankfully, they released that deleted scene later. It’s still on YouTube.”

Satyadev revealed that the scene wasn’t included in the film as it was incomplete. Police turned up at the shooting spot due to Mahesh, “But the reason why we needed to stop shooting that day was that the police came. They told him the students had stopped writing exams because he was there. They asked us to leave, and we never completed the scene. He’s presenting my film now; everyone who teased me then can watch it now.”

Upcoming work

Rao Bahadur is directed by Venkatesh Maha and stars Satyadev, who looks unrecognisable in the film. The film also stars Vikas Muppala, Deepa Thomas, Bala Parasar, Anand Bharathi, Pranay Vaka, Kunal Kaushik, and Master Kiran. It is presented by Mahesh’s GMB Entertainment and produced by SriChakraas Entertainments, A+S Movies, and Mahayana Motion Pictures.

Mahesh will soon star in SS Rajamouli’s next film, Varanasi, alongside Priyanka Chopra and Prithviraj Sukumaran. He plays Rudhra, while Priyanka plays Mandakini and Prithviraj plays Kumbha. The film is produced by Sri Durga Arts and Showing Business. It will hit screens on April 7, 2027.