How Rajinikanth Saved Mohan Babu's Career With Money and a Free Cameo

Tamil superstar Rajinikanth saved actor Mohan Babu from a major career crisis in the 1990s by sending forty-five lakh rupees without a contract and acting for free in the 1995 blockbuster Pedarayudu. By 1994, Mohan Babu faced a severe financial slump after a string of action films flopped at the box office, leaving his two-decade career at rock bottom. Rajinikanth urged him to remake the hit 1994 Tamil film Nattamai in Telugu, believing the role of the village patriarch suited Mohan Babu. When Mohan Babu struggled to secure the remake rights against competition that included Sr NTR, Rajinikanth intervened by speaking to producer RB Choudary beforehand, allowing Mohan Babu to get the rights smoothly through his banner, Sree Lakshmi Prasanna Pictures. Production faced severe financial trouble when funds ran out entirely. Rajinikanth stepped in with forty-five lakh rupees and instructed him to finish the film and return the money only after it started earning. Furthermore, Rajinikanth agreed to play a special role as Paparayudu without taking any payment, despite being the highest-paid actor in South Indian cinema at the time. Director Ravi Raja Pinisetty handled the adaptation, with music by Koti and a cast featuring Bhanupriya, Soundarya, and Mohan Babu's son Manchu Manoj as a child artist. The inclusion of Rajinikanth completely changed the commercial risk for distributors and exhibitors. Released in June 1995, Pedarayudu became a massive box office hit and an industry hit, saving Mohan Babu's career and starting a three-decade revival.