There is something in Mahesh Babu that makes the markets work.

Despite the poor performance of his last two films --- Arjun and Naani, Mahesh still commands lot of respect in the trade circles.

His forthcoming film Athadu has been gobbled up for good price.

Athadu carries good trade talk as it is said to be a slickly-made thriller.

Reportedly a take-off on the Hollywood hit Assassins, Athadu is directed by Trivikram Srinivas and stars Trisha in the female lead.

As a pair, Mahesh and Trisha look fetching and have got the youth crowd going.

Athadu, of course, is a long-delayed film ---it was started last year.

The audio release has also been delayed --- originally scheduled for June 25, it has been now put off to June 29.

But the market is not worried. Almost all the major territories have been sold out.

Interestingly, even well-known producers have bought the rights for the film's distribution.

Dil Raju has bought this film for Guntur area while Mallidi Satyanarayana Reddy (Bunny producer) has bought the rights for Vizag area.