Puri Jagannath’s Pokiri turned Mahesh Babu into one of the biggest star heroes in Tollywood. The next film in their combo, Businessman, also did well.
But after that, some controversies happened, and the Puri-Mahesh relationship turned bitter. Mahesh fans also got hurt by some of the things Puri said about Mahesh. They lost their admiration for him during that phase.
Now Businessman is due for re-release in the 4K version on the occasion of Mahesh Babu’s birthday. It was one of the last few films where Mahesh Babu’s aggressive and volatile acting came out in full force. After that, he slipped into subtle acting and message-delivering roles, which kind of disheartened a section of his fan base.
Despite spewing venom against Puri Jagannath, Mahesh fans still have a soft corner for him, as he was the last one who extracted a spirited and joshful performance from their idol. He gave him roles that justified his talent as a performer.
There is still a section of fans who want Mahesh to collaborate with Puri Jagan, which is almost impossible now as Mahesh has moved onto a different league and Puri Jagan’s current form is abysmal.
The re-release of Businessman would surely ruffle some feathers and rekindle the old wounds of fans who will regret that more films didn’t happen under the combination of Mahesh Babu and Puri Jagan, who gave them cult films like Pokiri and Businessman.
