NTR Special Focus

Personal Life of NTR  :

Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao was born in Nimmakuru, Krishna District, Andhra Pradesh on 28 May 1923 NTR had his early education from tutor Valluru Subba Rao, in his native village. His parents, Venkataramamma and Laxmaiah, gave him in adoption to the latter's brother, Ramaiah and his wife Chandramma. He spent the following years in Yanamalakuduru, a small village near Vijayawada , at the home of D. Buchi Venkata Krishna Chowdary.

                              He passed the matriculation  in 1940 and joined the SRR and CVR College in Vijayawada. While doing his Intermediate course, he supplemented the family income by supplying milk to hotels in Vijayawada on his bicycle. At the end of the first year, the students decided to stage a play written by Satyanarayana, the well-known Telugu poet and writer and the head of the Telugu department of the college. He joined the Andhra-Christian College at Guntur for the Bachelor of Arts course in 1945. From a young age he showed an interest in singing and developed a baritone singing voice as a young man

                                    He also known as NTR and fondly referred to as Anna Garu, was an Indian film actor, director, producer, and a politician. He first gained popularity in the early 1950’s as "messiah of the masses" and has become one of the most prominent figures in the history of Telugu Cinema .

                                       In May 1942, at the age of 20, NTR married Basava Tarakam, the daughter of his maternal uncle. The couple had seven sons (Balakrishna, Harikrishna, Jayakrishna, Late. Nandamuri Saikrishna, Late. Ramakrishna, Jayashankarakrishna and Mohanakrishna) and four daughters (Daggubati Purandareswari, Lokeswari, Bhuvaneswari and Uma Maheswari).

                                    Commemorating his son Late. Ramakrishna, NTR started the film studio Ramakrishna Studios in Nacharam. Nandamuri Harikrishna is an actor-turned-politician elected to the Rajya Sabha (upper house of India's Parliament) representing Telugu Desam party. Nandamuri Balakrishna is a prominent actor in the Telugu film industry, while Jayakrishna is a noted cinematographer. Bhuvaneswari is the wife of Nara Chandrababu Naidu, the former Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh. Daggubati Purandareswari is a politician.

                                     NTR's grandchildren include the Telugu cine actors Jr. N. T. Rama Rao, Kalyan Ram (both are sons of Harikrishna) and Taraka Ratna (son of Mohanakrishna). NTR's first wife, Mrs. Basava Tarakam, died of cancer in 1985. The Basavatarakam Indo American Cancer Hospital & Research Institute was established in her memory at  Hyderabad

NTR as an actor :

He made his debut as an actor in Mana Desam (1949) a Telugu social film directed by L. V. Prasad. He then continued to work in Telugu cinema, often portraying antagonistic characters and gradually rose to acting in lead roles. He is best known for his portrayals of Hindu deities, especially Lord Krishna and Lord Rama. "NTR" starred in over 320 Telugu films, that made him a mythic figure among the Telugu speaking people of Andhra Pradesh. He was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India in 1968, recognizing his contribution to Telugu cinema. . Besides Telugu, he has also acted in a few Tamil and Kannada films.

Achievements as an Actor:

1. 1968 - National Film Award for Best Regional Film in Telugu - Varakatnam.

2. 1968 - He was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India, recognizing his contribution to Telugu cinema.

3. 1972 - Best Actor for Badi Panthulu.

4. 1978 - Honorary Doctorate from Andhra University.

Politics : 

After his career in movies, He founded the Telugu Desam Party in 1982 and served 3 terms as Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh .His stated reason for founding the Telugu Desam Party was based on a historic need to rid the state of the corrupt and inept Congress rule. When he started his political career he was already a very popular actor in the Telugu film industry.NTR was unanimously elected leader of Telugu Dasam Legislature Party on 8 January 1983 with 10 cabinet ministers and five ministers of State. He became the 10th Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh and was reelected three times between 1983 and 1994. NTR became a political activist and a political party leader. He is known as an advocate of Andhra Pradesh's distinct cultural identity, distinguishing it from Madras State with which it was often associated .








NTR's Movie list