He attempted a sordid take on Kuch Kuch Hota Hai in Yuvaraju (2000), his second film. In 2002 he attempted a cowboy film – a Gongura Western if you will – with the meagre budgets of that era. In Naani (2004) he attempted a sci-fi comedy where he plays an adult with an eight-year-old boy’s brain. He took on the system in Nijam (2003) where he played a meek character immediately after earning the image of a mass star. Even after achieving superstardom, he took a big gamble with Sukumar’s One (1: Nenokkadine, 2014) where he played a rockstar with a psychological disorder that prevents him from differentiating between reality and illusion.
They were all flops because of their creative recklessness. It was a case of confusing an idea – thrilling, fresh, and brave – for the execution – shoddy, weak, and uncreative. But the star always came out with praise even if the film sunk. When a film was a hit Mahesh Babu could walk away with praise but when they flopped no fingers would be pointed at him.
The director didn’t know how to handle the premise.
The producer didn’t spend enough money.
The heroine looked too old next to him.
And you began to suspect that maybe that was the game he enjoyed playing: to be praised as the shining object amidst the rubble.
But Spyder finally broke the camel’s back.
The film needed to be a hit. Mahesh Babu was coming off an embarrassing flop in Brahmotsavam (2016), a family film that had less flavour than plain rice. He combined forces with AR Murugadoss who had revamped Vijay’s image in Tamil cinema; he was the director to go to if you wanted to push the boundaries within mainstream cinema.