Kathi Mahesh Kumar (1977/8 – 10 July 2021)[1][2][3] was an Indian film critic[3][4] and actor working in Telugu cinema.

[12] Mahesh started his career with Edari Varsham, based on Devarakonda Balagangadhara Tilak's story Vuri Chivara Illu.

[16] In 2017, he appeared in season 1 of the Telugu reality show Bigg Boss, hosted by Jr. NTR and telecast on Star Maa.

[7] He accuses Tollywood of being casteist and feels that Telugu films lack new ideas and fail to address social issues.

[15] Mahesh was banned from entering Hyderabad on 9 July 2018 for a period of six months by the Telangana police, under the Telangana Prevention of Anti-Social and Hazardous Activities Act, 1980, for allegedly calling Rama a "cheat" and claiming that Sita would have been better off with Ravana, during a debate, about a sedition case filed against Babu Gogineni,[20] in a regional news channel.

[22] On 25 June 2021, Mahesh met with an accident when his car collided with a truck near Nellore, when he was travelling from Chittoor towards Hyderabad.

[16] The government of Andhra Pradesh offered a financial support of ₹17 lakhs from the Chief Minister's Relief Fund for his treatment.