For the first time in his decade-long career, superstar Mahesh Babu has locked lips with hottie Kajal Agarwal in The Businessman.

Although he has pecked Trisha and Anushka on screen before, this time he gets more intimate to scorch the screen with Kajal. Being conservative, he always thumbed down such scenes and insisted that directors come up with alternative options.

This time, however, he turns truly romantic and passionate.

“Initially, he was reluctant, but finally relented after being convinced that this kiss was necessary to establish the strong bond between the lovers. The scene will have Kajal resting on her bed as Mahesh indulges in a passionate kiss to add fillip to their romance,” says a source close the director.

Apparently, the Gen X star joins the likes of Nagarjuna, Naga Chaitanya and Allu Arjun who also indulged in lip-locks and became famed lover boys on screen.

Interestingly, Kajal Aggarwal, who refused to kiss her co-stars before, has done the passionate kissing scene with Mahesh Babu. The sequence has come out well and director Puri Jagannath has ensured that it is shot in aesthetic manner.

Is this just to titillate the front benchers? “No, it’s not, because the director has captured the moment aesthetically,” the source adds.

The Businessman will hit the screens on January 11, 2012, and the audio of the movie will hit the stands on December 18.

The patchwork for the film is going on at Ramoji Film City and teaser trailers will be released in Telugu, Tamil, and Malayalam on December 9.

The trailers will be shown in cinema halls in Andhra Pradesh during the screenings of Panjaa.