📌 Key Points
- Sobhan Babu’s stunning betrayal of Superstar Krishna!
- Krishna’s legendary pivot: From rejection to ANR’s sets in days!
- Rival legends Krishna-ANR unite! How Krishna brokered peace.
- Sobhan Babu “shocked to core” by Krishna’s epic power move!
Tollywood history is rich with tales of star heroes, their camaraderie, and clashes. An electrifying incident involving Superstar Krishna and Sobhan Babu is now resurfacing. It all began when Sobhan Babu reportedly broke a promise, prompting Krishna to unleash his ‘Superstar Power‘ in a jaw-dropping display that left everyone stunned, paving the way for an unexpected collaboration with ANR.
Trust Lost: Sobhan Babu’s Snub
Tollywood has always been ripe with stories about the relationships and rivalries between its yesteryear star heroes. A particular incident involving Krishna and Sobhan Babu is now going viral, starting with Sobhan Babu breaking a promise to Krishna and Krishna subsequently demonstrating what ‘Superstar Power’ truly meant, delivering a jaw-dropping shock.
In an era where stars like NTR, ANR, Krishna, and Sobhan Babu shone brightly, their unity was matched only by their pronounced differences. While often competing, they also delivered super hits through multi-starrer movies. Similar to the well-known conflicts between NTR and ANR, Krishna and Sobhan Babu, who followed these legends, also faced comparable situations. It’s in this context that Krishna’s comments about a specific incident with Sobhan Babu are now gaining traction. Krishna consistently held Sobhan Babu, who was somewhat senior to him in the industry, in high regard. Even when they did multi-starrer films together, Krishna would reportedly tell filmmakers to give Sobhan Babu the more important role. Krishna himself revealed these details on some occasions.
However, there came a point when Sobhan Babu reportedly lost Krishna’s trust. Krishna had once come forward to help Sobhan Babu when he was facing difficulties without films. But Sobhan Babu, in turn, gave the Superstar the slip. Reportedly, Sobhan Babu was shocked by Krishna’s subsequent actions.
In an old interview, Krishna recounted the incident: ‘Sobhan Babu was going through a series of failures, and producers weren’t approaching him. At that time, he sent word to me through his manager, saying, “Producers aren’t approaching me; I’m in a phase of failures… it would be good if we did a film in the Vijayakrishna and Padmalaya combination.” So, I personally went to Sobhan Babu’s house. I told him, “Let’s do a film under Vijayakrishna Productions, and Vijaya Nirmala will direct it,” and I even gave him an advance of 25,000 rupees.’
Superstar Power: Krishna’s Bold Move
Krishna continued: ‘Just after this, Sobhan Babu’s film ‘Mallepoovu’ became a super hit. As I was leaving Madras for Hyderabad on a morning flight, I told Vijaya Nirmala, “Mallepoovu has become a hit… perhaps Sobhan Babu won’t do our film now.” After saying that, I landed in Hyderabad. By the time I reached the guest house, I received a call from Vijaya Nirmala. She said, “Sobhan Babu says he won’t do our film.” When we sent him the story for changes, he responded, “I didn’t like that story; I’m not doing it. Please return this advance to Krishna Garu,” and sent the money back. I told Nirmala, “Let’s do this film with a bigger hero than him… let’s finalize something by evening.” I immediately went to Nageswara Rao.’
This is where Krishna showcased his ‘Superstar Power.’ Despite existing disputes with Nageswara Rao over the film ‘Devadasu’ and minimal communication between them, Krishna approached him. Akkineni was reportedly surprised, asking, ‘What brings you here, my boy?’ To this, Krishna replied, “Nothing much… I came to do a film with you.” Akkineni then said, ‘You want to do a film with me? Alright, let’s forget our old differences and talk friendly, jovially, and happily. If you agree to this, I will act, but I must like the story.’ So, I canceled the story I had planned to do with Sobhan Babu, had the story of Amitabh Bachchan’s Hindi film ‘Don’ modified, added my character and Vijaya Nirmala’s character, and we made the film ‘Hema Hemilu.’ He liked the story and cooperated very well for the film,’ Krishna said.
Within a week of Sobhan Babu canceling the film with Krishna, Krishna was already on sets with Akkineni, a move that reportedly shocked Sobhan Babu to his core. He was apparently stunned, thinking, ‘How did Nageswara Rao Garu agree and start the film so quickly?’ Furthermore, even producer Ramanaidu found this hard to believe. Upon seeing the news in the paper while in Karamchedu, he reportedly exclaimed, ‘I truly cannot believe this!’
Thus, Sobhan Babu’s actions, initially prompting Krishna to help him, ultimately led Krishna to make ‘Hema Hemilu’ with Akkineni. This incident between Krishna and Sobhan Babu became a hot topic in Tollywood history.
Looking Ahead
This unforgettable incident, sparked by Sobhan Babu, ultimately highlighted Krishna’s unyielding spirit, propelling him to a legendary collaboration with Akkineni Nageswara Rao. A defining moment, it illustrates how even rivalries can forge cinematic history, leaving an indelible mark on Tollywood’s rich tapestry and reminding us of Krishna’s enduring legacy.
