The success of Simhadri made NTR famously give a pompous statement. He openly expressed his wish to become the Numero Uno of Tollywood. Chiranjeevi, who was still the reigning star, was apparently his target. At the silver jubilee celebrations of Indra, Prakash Raj, who was perceived to be with the Chiru camp, indirectly took potshots at the aggressive dreams of this upstart, saying that the Mega Star could not be upstaged by anyone.

The rest is history. NTR hasn't had a second Simhadri over all the years. Meanwhile, he got a competitor from someone he might have thought to be a negligible class actor of limited appeal for the masses. It was Mahesh Babu, who rose to superstardom with Pokiri in 2006. Five years later, while Oosaravelli failed to make money beyond the first week, Dookudu broke all the records.

Ever since a mediocre film like Businessman shocked the world by raking in the greatest amount in the history of Telugu cinema, which proves Mahesh's unparalleled standing beyond doubt, a particularly interesting rumour has been doing the rounds in Film Nagar. That the producer of Dammu has rumouredly paid Rs. 12 crore as remuneration to NTR!

When NTR wanted to outclass Chiru, his producers were made to go for mammoth releases. When the trick failed with all the films, including Oosaravelli, he wants to prove that he is the Big One who is paid the highest remuneration in the town. So opine some industry observers.

Where will this unacknowledged NTR-Mahesh rivalry lead to?