Mahesh Babu Says Dad Krishna Always Inspires Him [PHOTOS]

Tollywood superstar Mahesh Babu, who was missing at the golden jubilee celebration of his father Krishna's film career, says that his father will always remain his source of inspiration.

Superstar Krishna debuted as a hero in "Thene Manasulu", which was released in theatres on 31 March in 1965. The actor completed 50 years in the Telugu film industry. His family and fans held a grand function to celebrate the occasion in Hyderabad on Tuesday. Mahesh Babu could not make it to the event and his absence had surprise many of Ghattamaneni fans.

On 1 April, Mahesh Babu, who was busy shooting for Koratala Siva's upcoming project, took to his Twitter handle and congratulated his father on his successful career. He wrote: "My father is and will always remain 1 of the greatest personalities in the Telugu film industry ..b Congratulations on completing 50 fabulous years .. Extremely proud :) He is and will always be my inspiration:)"

Krishna has acted in over 354 movies and has dabbled in various roles in a career spanning 50 years. He has also produced and directed several Telugu movies. He introduced path-breaking technologies such as Eastman Color film (Eenadu), Cowboy film (Mosagallaku Mosagadu), Cinema scope film (Alluri Sitharama Raju) and 70mm film (Simhasanam) to Tollywood.

The superstar was awarded the Padma Bhushan award in 2009. His son Mahesh Babu is now taking forward his legacy. The golden jubilee function was a grand event, attended by his wife Nirmala, step son Naresh and thousands of fans.