Released · Telugu film · 2012
Businessman
బిజినెస్ మేన్
Businessman release date: 13 January 2012 (theatres). Directed by Puri Jagannadh; starring Mahesh Babu, Kajal Aggarwal and Prakash Raj.
- Film release
- 13 January 2012 · All 2012 films
- Director
- Puri Jagannadh
- Music
- S. Thaman
- Production
- R. R. Makers
- Writing credits
- Puri Jagannadh, Ram Gopal Varma
- Runtime
- 131 min
- Language
- Telugu
OTT release
No streaming platform is on file for this film.
Film release: 13 January 2012 · all 2012 Telugu films.
Source: the film’s Wikipedia article, checked 25 September 2026. It does not name a streaming platform or date; this page says so rather than guessing.
Businessman is a 2012 Telugu-language action crime film written and directed by Puri Jagannadh and produced by R. R. Venkat under the R. R. Movie Makers banner. Based on a concept by Ram Gopal Varma, it stars Mahesh Babu as a man who arrives in Mumbai determined to rule the city, with Kajal Aggarwal and Prakash Raj in a large ensemble. Shot in just 74 working days, it was released at Sankranthi and became one of the highest-grossing Telugu films of 2012.
Premise
Mumbai’s police commissioner has just declared the city free of the mafia when Vijay Surya arrives with the opposite plan: to take over Mumbai. Driven by a deep grudge against a corrupt system, he settles in Dharavi, recruits gangsters and wins over local politicians and residents alike, while building a reputation that makes him feared. His rise soon brings violent opposition from both the police and powerful enemies. The reasons behind his ambition, and where it finally leads him, are revealed over the course of the film and are not spelled out here.
Cast
Mahesh Babu plays the protagonist, Vijay Surya. The ensemble also features:
- Kajal Aggarwal
- Prakash Raj and Nassar
- Sayaji Shinde and Raza Murad
- Subbaraju and Brahmaji
An earlier version
The project began differently. In May 2010 Ram Gopal Varma signed Suriya for a multilingual film titled The Businessman, to be directed by Jagannadh in Telugu, Tamil and Hindi at the same time. Its hero was to be a South Indian who comes to Mumbai and uses cunning and intelligence to become one of the city’s biggest gangsters. That version was expected to start once Suriya finished 7 Aum Arivu (2011), but it did not go ahead as planned.
Revival and production
R. R. Venkat revived the film in January 2011 with the tagline “Guns do not need agreements” and signed Mahesh Babu, who had worked with Jagannadh before on Pokiri (2006). According to the source, the budget was ₹40 crore.
The film was formally launched in Hyderabad on 15 August 2011, and principal photography began on 2 September 2011. It was shot in Hyderabad, Mumbai and Goa, with a few songs filmed in Bangkok. Filming wrapped on 10 December 2011 after 74 working days, one of the shortest shoots for a Telugu film.
S. Thaman composed the music. Shyam K. Naidu was the cinematographer, and M. S. Rajashekhar Reddy, credited as S. R. Shekhar, edited the film.
Release and box office
Businessman was released on 14 January 2012 during the Sankranthi festival. According to the source, it grossed over ₹72 crore in its original release, making it one of the highest-grossing Telugu films of that year.
Place in Mahesh Babu’s career
The film came during a strong run for its lead actor. It followed Dookudu (2011) and was one of a string of commercially successful films, alongside later hits such as Seethamma Vakitlo Sirimalle Chettu and Srimanthudu, that established him among Telugu cinema’s top earners.
Sources: Wikipedia and Wikidata.
Trailer from the official YouTube channel of Puri Jagannadh, published 8 Dec 2011.
Cast of Businessman (2012)
- Mahesh Babu as Vijay Surya 'Surya Bhai'
- Kajal Aggarwal as Chitra
- Prakash Raj as Jaidev Ghanapuleti
Additional cast
Further acting credits recorded for this film; voice-only and dubbing credits are excluded.
- Nassar as Ajay Bharadwaj
- Subbaraju as Jaidev's Henchman
- Sayaji Shinde as Laalu (Politician)
- Brahmaji as Surya's Friend & Assistant
- Puri Jagannadh
- Dharmavarapu Subramanyam as Laalu's Secretary
- Ganesh Babu
Also in the cast (TMDB): Mahesh Balraj as Nazeer, Ayesha Shiva as Ayesha, Bharath Reddy as Inspector Bharath, Sanjay Swaroop as Surya's father, Bandla Ganesh as Constable Puli Raju, Rajeev Mehta as Arun Ghokle, Raza Murad as Guru Govind Patel, Khan Jahangir Khan as Ruling Party High Command, Akash Puri as Surya in Teenage.
Character names as listed on TMDB, checked 10 Oct 2026.
What critics said
Reviews cited in the article were broadly favourable, crediting Mahesh Babu's performance and Puri Jagannadh's dialogue, though several saw it as a film mainly for fans.
- The Hindu (Suresh Krishnamoorthy) called it a “wholesome package” and a pure entertainer; Y. Sunita Chowdary, also of The Hindu, praised a tight script that binds the action, dialogue and montage together.
- The Times of India (Suresh Kavirayani) called it an unpretentious entertainer that keeps viewers interested to the end.
- Indo-Asian News Service highlighted Mahesh Babu's performance and the dialogue, and saw it as a film for his fans.
- Rediff.com (Radhika Rajamani) found it entertaining if watched uncritically, and “just Mahesh all the way”.
- Sify called the story far-fetched but said the screenplay works like magic.
- Deccan Chronicle (B. V. S. Prakash) enjoyed the comic one-liners but felt a contrived, exaggerated plot could undo the effort.
Box office: the article reports a first-day global gross of about ₹18.73 crore, an all-time opening-day record at the time.
Summarised by Tollywood Desk from the reception section of the Wikipedia article Businessman (film) (revision 1368702215), which cites the reviews named above. Quotation marks show words quoted in that article; no ratings or scores are added here.
Source record: Q5001753 on Wikidata. Dates are those on record and can change; this is not a studio announcement. Spotted an error? Send a correction.