Mahesh Kathi

Mahesh Kathi is an Indian film critic and actor working in Telugu cinema. He appeared on the reality TV show Bigg Boss Telugu. He studied film theory at the Hyderabad Central University.

Career
Kathi started his career with Edari Varsham, based on Devarakonda Balagangadhara Tilak's story Vooru Chivuru Illu, which was the first crowd funded short film in Telugu. Kathi was a co-writer of the film Minugurulu the "first Telugu script to be preserved in the Oscar Library's permanent core collection" and the first Telugu film to contend for the Academy Awards' best feature film (2014). His film reviews for the Telugu channel 10TV were controversial.

In his next film, the 2015 romantic comedy Pesarattu, he used flowcam technology popularized by Ram Gopal Varma. He played a small role in the film Hrudaya Kaleyam.

As of August 2017, he appeared in season 1 of the Telugu reality show Bigg Boss, hosted by Jr. NTR, telecasted on Star Maa.

His latest film, Egise Tarajuvvualu, broaches the need for developing scientific temperament among children.

Kathi was banned from entering Hyderabad on 9 July 2018 for a period of 6 months by the Telangana police for allegedly calling Lord Rama a "cheat" on a Telugu TV debate. A case was filed against him in February 2020 for referring to Rama as having mistresses and Sita wishing to eat the golden deer Rama was chasing at an anti-CAA event in Hyderabad with.