Jagapathi Babu says Mahesh Babu’s Guntur Kaaram became ‘messy, difficult to finish’: ‘I don’t want to waste…’

Jagapathi Babu, once a popular hero in Telugu cinema, changed his career track to become a much sought-after actor for villain roles. Not just in Telugu, he became the quintessential suave villain in Tamil cinema to the extent that his roles became an archetype. He recently played the role of the antagonist in Mahesh Babu’s Guntur Kaaram, which received mixed reviews from fans and critics. In a recent interview, Jagapathi Babu shocked everyone by revealing that he wasn’t happy working in the film.

In an interview with Times Now, Jagapathi Babu claimed that he accepted the film as it initially had a lot of scope. However, it became ‘messy’ later, according to the actor, who didn’t enjoy doing the film. “I would love to work with Mahesh Babu always. But, to be honest, I didn’t enjoy Guntur Kaaram. Because, it was supposed to be very different, more characterisation was there. It became sort of messy after a while, it became difficult to finish it. I did whatever I had to do. I don’t want to waste our combinations on such films, it should be the best.”

Over the years Jagapathi Babu and Mahesh Babu have collaborated for blockbuster films like Maharshi and Srimanthudu. However, Guntur Kaaram failed to meet the expectations and live up to the level of their previous collaborations.

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The film predominantly received mixed reviews and failed at the box office race with Hanu-Man during Sankranti. Anandu Suresh of Indian Express rated the film with two stars and wrote, “Mahesh Babu, in top-notch form, is the sole redeeming factor in Trivikram’s unnecessarily prolonged film, preventing it from becoming a tedious watch.”

Guntur Kaaram was Mahesh Babu’s return to the silver screen after a gap of two years. Directed by Trivirkam Srinivas, the film also had Sreeleela, Meenakshi Chaudhry, Ramya Krishnan, Prakash Raj, Jagapathi Babu, Sunil, and Jayaram. Mahesh Babu is next teaming up with SS Rajamouli for an untitled film, which will be set in Africa. According to the film’s writer V Vijayendra Prasad, the film will be like an Indian version of Indiana Jones.