Income Tax sleuths seem to be following closely the hype around Telugu film industry collections. The producers of Dookudu had been visited by the tax officials earlier, following the reports of record-breaking collections of the Mahesh starrer.
Now, it was the turn of the hero himself. IT men came calling on Mahesh’s new swanky residence in Jubilee Hills on Friday to find out for themselves how expensive has the leading man of Tollywood become in recent times.
The handsome hero has been reported to be the highest paid actor in Telugu in recent times. His remuneration reportedly shot up to around Rs 10 crore a film. Dookudu‘s success has only added to the speculation about the numbers.
Interestingly, we have not heard of any IT raids against the producers or the hero following Magadheera‘s similar claims of box-office collections. Rumour is that Chiranjeevi’s proximity to Congress is now a protective umbrella against such indiscretions by IT sleuths.
Mahesh Babu, on the other hand, was seen as being associated, however remotely, to the Jagan camp. This perception came about because of his uncle Adiseshagiri Rao,who was reported to have formally joined YSR Congress Party. It is in this backdrop that the raids assume significance.
The 35-year-old is also much sought after for commercial advertisements by leading brands. He is said to have endorsed more brands than any other Telugu hero. Some of the commercials featuring him include UniverCell, Thums UP, Provogue, Jos Alukkas and Vivel Pro.
The ladies-man charges almost the same amount for commercials as he does for his films, sources say.
