A very famous actor in the South Indian film industry, Mahesh Babu has opened up about Hindi movie offers, which he says he turned down because “Bollywood cannot afford” him.

He was interacting with the press during the trailer launch of Major, where he was asked the question about starring in a Hindi movie. His response was:

I did get a lot of offers in Hindi, but I don’t think they can afford me. I don’t want to waste my time working in an industry which can’t afford me. The stardom and the respect I get here (in South) is huge, so I never really thought of leaving my industry and going to some other industry. I have always thought of doing films and becoming bigger. My dream is coming true now and I can’t be happier.

Another reason he wants to stick to Telugu cinema is that he understands its emotions.

I always wanted to do Telugu films and wished people across India would watch it. And now when that is happening I’m very happy. I always had this strong opinion that my strength is Telugu films and the emotion I understand is the Telugu film emotion. 

Anyhow, this is how people have been reacting to his statement.

A week-long Twitter debate on the topic is incoming.