N. T. Rama Rao

Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao was born on 28 May 1923 in a Telugu Hindu agrarian family^[1] in Nimmakuru, a small village in Gudivada taluk of Krishna district, which was a part of the erstwhile Madras Presidency of British India. He was given in adoption to his paternal uncle because his uncle and aunt were childless.^[25] He was first educated by a teacher who came from a nearby village, whom he would attribute his command of Telugu to, as well as his father, an aspiring thespian and patron of the arts. Although children were normally pulled out of school after completing their primary education, on account of being the first male child in the family, his father sent him to Vijayawada, where he continued his education, matriculating in 1940 before studying at SRR & CVR College and completed a bachelor's degree from Andhra Christian College in Guntur. ^[26]

After qualifying for the civil service in what was then the Madras Presidency under British India, he took a job as a sub-registrar in Madras Service Commission at Mangalagiri, northeast of Guntur, a much-coveted job that he nevertheless quit within three weeks to pursue a career in acting.^[27][28] He developed a baritone singing voice as a young man.^[11]

In May 1943, at the age of 20, while still pursuing his Intermediate, Rao married Smt. Basava Rama Tarakam, the daughter of his maternal uncle. The marriage resulted in twelve children; including eight sons and four daughters, namely: Ramakrishna Sr., Jayakrishna, Saikrishna, Harikrishna, Mohanakrishna, Balakrishna, Ramakrishna Jr., Jayashankarakrishna, Garapati Lokeswari (daughter), Daggubati Purandeswari (daughter), Nara Bhuvaneswari (daughter), and Kantamaneni Umamaheswari (daughter).^[29]

Smt. Basava Tarakam died of cancer in 1985.^[30] In her memory, Rao established the Basavatarakam Indo-American Cancer Hospital in Hyderabad, in 1986.^[31] In 1993, NTR married Lakshmi Parvathi, a Telugu writer.^[32] The marriage was childless and lasted until NTR's death less than three years later. Parvati was the author of NTR's two-volume biography published in 2004. The first volume, Eduruleni Manishi (transl. Unstoppable person), covers his childhood and his entry into films. The second volume, Telugu Tejam (transl. The radiance of Telugu), deals with his political career.^[33][34]

NTR's eldest son, Nandamuri Ramakrishna Sr., died in 1962, soon after Rao completed shooting of the film Irugu Porugu.^[35] Rao founded the film studios Ramakrishna Studios in Nacharam in his memory. NTR's second son, Nandamuri Jayakrishna is a film exhibitor and producer, his son Nandamuri Chaitanya Krishna is also a film producer.^[36][37] NTR's third son, Nandamuri Saikrishna, who was a theatre owner, died in 2004 following diabetic complications.^[38] His fourth son, Nandamuri Harikrishna, who died in a car accident on 29 August 2018, was a child actor-turned-politician elected to the Rajya Sabha, representing the TDP. Harikrishna's sons Nandamuri Kalyan Ram and N. T. Rama Rao Jr. are also actors in the Telugu cinema, with the latter being one of the leading actors in Tollywood since the early-2000s.^[39] NTR's fifth son Nandamuri Mohana Krishna is a cinematographer, and his son Taraka Ratna was also an actor who died in 2023.^[40][41] NTR's sixth son, Nandamuri Balakrishna, has been one of the leading actors in Tollywood since the mid-1980s. He also started his career as a child artist. Balakrishna contested 2014 assembly elections as a TDP candidate.^[42] He won the Hindupur Assembly Constituency. His seventh son, Nandamuri Ramakrishna Jr. is a film producer.

NTR's third daughter, Bhuvaneswari, is married to chief minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu. NTR's second daughter, Daggubati Purandeswari, is a politician, who has represented the Indian National Congress in the Lok Sabha and served as a Union Minister. She later shifted her allegiance to the Bharatiya Janata Party.^[43][44] NTR's fourth and youngest daughter, Uma Maheswari, was found dead at her home in Hyderabad's Jubilee Hills on 1 August 2022. According to Police, her death appears to be an instance of suicide, but no suicide note was found.

Rama Rao started his film career with a walk-on role as a policeman in Mana Desam (1949).^[11] Following this, he appeared in Palletoori Pilla (1950), directed by B. A. Subba Rao.^[45] His first religious film was in 1957, where he portrayed the Hindu god Krishna in the blockbuster film Maya Bazaar.^[46] He played Krishna in 17 films,^[46] including some landmark films such as Sri Krishnarjuna Yudham (1962), the Tamil film Karnan (1964) and Daana Veera Soora Karna (1977). He was also known for his portrayal of the god Rama, essaying that role in films such as Lava Kusa (1963) and Sri Ramanjaneya Yuddham (1974) to name a few. He has also portrayed other characters from the Ramayana, such as Ravana in Bhookailas (1958) and Seetharama Kalyanam (1961) among others. He portrayed the god Vishnu in films such as Sri Venkateswara Mahatyam (1960) among others and the god Shiva in Dakshayagnam (1962). He has also enacted the roles of Mahabharata characters, such as Bheeshma, Arjuna, Karna and Duryodhana.

Later in his career, he stopped playing a prince in his commercial films and began to play roles of a poor yet heroic young man fighting against the existing system. These films appealed to the sentiments of the common man. Some of these films are Devudu Chesina Manushulu (1973), Adavi Ramudu (1977), Driver Ramudu (1979), Vetagadu (1979), Sardar Papa Rayudu (1980), Kondaveeti Simham (1981), Justice Chowdary (1982) and Bobbili Puli (1982). He also portrayed fantasy roles, his notable film in that genre being Yamagola (1977).^{[citation needed]} His film Lava Kusa, in which he starred as Rama, collected ₹1 crore in 1963. He directed and acted in the hagiographical film Srimadvirat Veerabrahmendra Swami Charitra (1984). He also acted in films such as Brahmashi Viswamitra (1991) and Major Chandrakanth (1993). His last film was Srinatha Kavi Sarvabhowmudu, a biopic on the Telugu poet Srinatha, which released in 1993.

In the later half of his career, Rao became a screenwriter. Despite having no formal training in scriptwriting, he authored several screenplays for his own movies as well as for other producers. He also produced many of his films as well as other actor's films through his film production house National Art Theater Private Limited, Madras and later Ramakrishna Studios, Hyderabad. He actively campaigned for the construction of a large number of cinemas through this production house.^[47] He was influential in designing and implementing a financial system that funded the production and distribution of movies.^[48] He was so dedicated to his profession that he would often learn new things in order to portray a particular character on-screen perfectly and realistically. At the age of 40, he learnt dance from the renowned Kuchipudi dancer Vempati Chinna Satyam for his role in the film Nartanasala (1963).^[49]

Nadendla Bhaskara Rao, a veteran politician joined Telugu Desam Party (TDP) founded by Rama Rao, on 29 March 1982 in Hyderabad. He said that this decision was based on a historic need to rid Andhra Pradesh of the corrupt and inept rule of the Indian National Congress, which had governed the state since its formation in 1956.^[50]

In the elections, the TDP allied with the Sanjaya Vichara Manch party and decided to field educated candidates who had a good name in the society^{[citation needed]} and were not indulging in corruption, which was an innovative political concept at the time. Rao himself decided to contest from two assembly constituencies, Gudivada and Tirupati. He used many innovative ways of campaigning, such as being the first politician in India to use rath yatras for campaigning. For this, he used a modified Chevrolet van which was given the name of Chaitanya Ratham. In this, Rao travelled across the state of Andhra Pradesh, crisscrossing all the districts. With his son Nandamuri Harikrishna, also a film actor, driving the van, Rao notched up over 75,000 kilometers during his campaign, a distinctive sight with the van's yellow party flags and banners and Rao sitting on top of the vehicle hailing the crowds.^[51] He campaigned for restoring the dignity of the Telugu people and advocated forming a closer bond between the government and the common people, going into the elections with the slogan, Telugu Vari Atma Gauravam (lit. Telugu people's self-respect).^[52]

In the 1983 Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly election, TDP won by an absolute majority winning 202 out of the 294 seats in the state assembly, with Rao himself winning both the seats he contested.^[53] Their alliance with the Sanjaya Vichara Manch fetched 202 seats.^[54] Rao was sworn in as the 10th and the first non-Congress Chief Minister of the state on 9 January 1983 with ten cabinet ministers and five ministers of State.^[55]

On 15 August 1984, Rao was removed from office by the then Governor of Andhra Pradesh Thakur Ram Lal, while Rao was in the US to undergo open heart surgery.^[56] His finance minister, Nadendla Bhaskara Rao, a former Congressman, was made the Chief Minister by the Governor Thakur Ram Lal. Bhaskar Rao purportedly had the support of majority of the TDP MLAs.^{[citation needed]}

Rama Rao returned to India immediately after his surgery, disputed the claims by Bhaskara Rao and demonstrated his strength by bringing all the MLAs supporting him, which was a majority in the 294-member assembly, to the Raj Bhavan (Governor's Office).^[56] Ramlal did not relent, as a result of which Rama Rao relaunched his Chaitanya Ratham campaign, this time campaigning for the restoration of democracy by mobilizing the support of people and various anti-Congress political parties in the country including the Janata Party (JP), the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and the National Conference (NC). During the one-month crisis, the MLAs supporting Rama Rao were secured in a secret place to avoid horse-trading. This was achieved with the support of Ramakrishna Hegde, Chief Minister of Karnataka. Ramakrishna Hegde moved all the TDP MLAs to a Budget Hotel, Das Prakash, in Mysuru (Mysore), as Congress was known for poaching MLAs regularly and was felt necessitated. This was the first time in Indian Politics that MLAs were secured at a safe place from poaching. Also, due to mobilization of several political parties and the people and due to press, the Prime Minister Indira Gandhi unwillingly removed Governor Ramlal and appointed a Congress veteran, Shankar Dayal Sharma, as the governor of Andhra Pradesh to pave the way for restoring Rao.^[56]

In 1984, when the then Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu and fellow senior actor M. G. Ramachandran (M.G.R.) was unable to campaign in the state assembly election due to him being hospitalized in the US, N.T.R., who was a close friend of M.G.R.,^[57] and R. M. Veerappan who was handling the party affairs, campaigned for the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK).^{[citation needed]} As leader of the National Front, he campaigned extensively for the constituent parties when they faced elections, again using his Chaitanya Ratham campaigning concept.^[58]

A month later, Indira Gandhi was assassinated and was succeeded as prime minister by her son, Rajiv Gandhi. In the ensuing national elections to the Lok Sabha, the Congress, riding on the sympathy wave caused by Gandhi's assassination, won convincingly all over the country except in Andhra Pradesh where the TDP secured a landslide victory. TDP became the first regional party to serve as the main opposition party in the Lok Sabha.^[59]

Meanwhile, in the state, Rao recommended dissolution of the Assembly and called for fresh elections the following year in the state to ensure that the people had a fresh choice to elect their representatives. The TDP again won with a massive majority in those elections, with Rao winning from 3 seats: Hindupur,^[60] Nalgonda^[61] and Gudivada,^[62] thus marking the beginning of his second term as Chief Minister. Senior Leaders of the Congress in the state including former Chief Ministers Kasu Brahmananda Reddy and Kotla Vijaya Bhaskara Reddy lost in their constituencies of Narasaraopet and Kurnool respectively to the TDP. Rao completed his five-year term as Chief Minister.^[63]

In the December 1989 assembly elections however, he was voted out of power due to a wave of anti-incumbency sweeping the state as a result of which the Congress returned to power. During this time, he suffered a mild stroke, as a result of which he was unable to campaign, which, according to some political analysts and TDP supporters, was the reason for the TDP's loss.^{[citation needed]}

During 1989, he established himself in national politics, forming a coalition of non-Congress parties opposed to the Congress known as the National Front. It included parties, besides the TDP, such as the Janata Dal and the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP). This alliance governed India between 1989 and 1990 with support from the BJP. Meanwhile, Rao assumed the position as the Leader of Opposition in the state. His National Front government at the national level led by V. P. Singh was at the forefront of social justice by implementing the provisions in the Mandal Commission for providing 27% reservation for Other Backward Classes (OBC's).^{[citation needed]}

Rao returned to power for a third and final time in the December 1994 state assembly elections with his party in alliance with the Left Front. This alliance won 269 seats in the 294 seat Assembly, with the TDP alone winning 226. The Congress, which once again had multiple Chief Ministers in the state during its five-year rule between 1989 and 1994, won only 26 seats. Rao contested again from Hindupur and won the seat for the third consecutive time,^[60] achieving a rare hat-trick of wins from the same assembly constituency. He also won from another assembly constituency, Tekkali.^[64] In 1995, TDP leaders unhappy with Lakshmi Parvati NTR wife interring in politics, led a revolt in the party against Rao, which led to N. Chandrababu Naidu becoming the CM on 1 September 1995 replacing Rao.^[65] The internal rebellion was triggered by the controversial role of Lakshmi Parvathi, NTR's second wife, in the party and the government.^[66] Naidu was able to secure the support of the majority of the legislators. Following this, NTR vowed to take revenge against Naidu in an interview with Reuters.^[67] However, NTR died in 1996. His second wife, Lakshmi Parvathi led NTR Telugu Desam Party which was eventually closed and joined YSRCP.

The NTR National Award is a national award in honour of Rao. It was instituted in 1996 by the Government of Andhra Pradesh to recognise notable film personalities for their lifetime achievements and contributions to the Indian film industry.^[70] The NTR National Literary Award was instituted by the NTR Vignan Trust, as an annual award to recognise people for their lifetime achievements and contributions to Indian literature.^[71] Dr. N.T.R. University of Health Sciences, Vijayawada was established as University of Health Sciences by the Government of Andhra Pradesh and was inaugurated on 9 April by N. T. Rama Rao, the then Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh in the city of Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, India. It started functioning on 1 November 1986.^[72] After the death of Rama Rao, it was decided to rename the university after him, and this was carried out on 2 February 1998.^[73] The university celebrated its silver jubilee from 1–3 November 2011.

N T Rama Rao died of a heart attack on 18 January 1996 at his residence in Hyderabad, aged 72.^[74] He was cremated, and his ashes were immersed at Srirangapatna by his second wife Lakshmi Parvathi, eight years later, in May 2004.^[75]

• Ramakrishna Cine Studios
• Tank Bund Road
• Buddha Statue of Hyderabad
• Potti Sreeramulu Telugu University
• Dravidian University (Brainchild of NTR)
• Sri Padmavati Mahila Visvavidyalayam
• Sri Venkateswara Institute of Medical Sciences
• Dr. NTR University of Health Sciences
• Engineering Agricultural and Medical Common Entrance Test (EAMCET)
• Telugu Ganga project

• His son Nandamuri Balakrishna portrayed him in the films N.T.R: Kathanayakudu and N.T.R: Mahanayakudu and they follow his acting career and his political reign respectively.^[76]
• He was portrayed by P Vijay Kumar in the Ram Gopal Varma film Lakshmi's NTR which follows the events of NTR:Mahanayakudu but is completely unrelated to the other 2 films due to having a different cast and director.^[77]

• List of chief ministers of Andhra Pradesh
• Government of Andhra Pradesh
• Elections in Andhra Pradesh
• Politics of Andhra Pradesh
• Maverick Messiah, a 2021 book about Rao

• Narayan, S. Venkat (1983). NTR: A Biography. New Delhi: Vikas Publishing House. ISBN 0-7069-2404-5. OCLC 10432404.

• N. T. Rama Rao at IMDb
• Article on NTR in BBC Telugu