Mahesh Babu, who is currently busy shooting for SS Rajamouli’s action-adventure film SSMB29, completes 46 years as an actor this month. His first film as a child artist, Needa, released on November 29, 1979. On the occasion, the makers of his 2012 film Businessman are planning a grand re-release for their film.
Written and directed by Puri Jagannadh, Businessman revolves around a mysterious man who arrives in Mumbai with an ambition to rule over the city as a gangster, stemming from a grudge against the corrupt system in the country, by setting up a massive crime business against all odds. The film’s storyline was inspired by a concept from Ram Gopal Varma, who was thanked in the film credits.
Besides Mahesh Babu, Businessman starred Kajal Aggarwal, Prakash Raj, and Nassar in the lead cast. The film originally had a grand release on the occasion of Sankranthi. Made on an estimated budget of Rs 40 crore, Businessman earned more than Rs 90 crore gross at the box office worldwide.
Businessman remains the last of two collaborations between Mahesh Babu and Puri Jagannadh, the other being the landmark 2006 film Pokiri.
This is not the first re-release for the film though. In August 2023, to mark the occasion of Mahesh Babu’s 48th birthday, the team had re-released the film in theatres where it grossed nearly Rs 5.5 crore on first day. It is to be noted that many of Mahesh Babu’s films have performed extremely well in their re-release run in the last few years, like Khaleja and Murari.
Meanwhile, Puri Jagannadh is currently making a film with Vijay Sethupathi, Tabu and Samyuktha in the lead cast. The film, untitled as yet, is being planned as a massive pan-India project.
