Many feel had Prince Mahesh Babu who is a top star in tollywood starred in the film when Shankar contacted him, the film's fate would have been different. Though Vijay enjoys huge mass following in kollywood next only to Superstar Rajinikanth, he doesn't have that appeal in telugu unlike Surya, Vikram, Ajith or Karthi. Prince Mahesh Babu left the film to other block busters like 'Dookudu' and 'Businessman' but knowning the popularity and directoral capabilities of Shankar,he might have missed an opportunity to score another hit considering the fact the he could have paired with Ileana which could have recreated 'Pokiri' magic.
Surely had he starred,keeping in view of his popularity, 'Snehitudu' script could have been changed, than the present carbon copy. In a way it seems Prince Mahesh Babu is behind 'Snehitudu' failure and turned out to be a villain for Shankar.