Telugu actor Nandamuri Balakrishna recently announced that he would make a biopic on his father, late actor and politician Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao. He made the announcement at his native Nimmakuru village in Krishna district, participating in various programmes along with his son-in-law Nara Lokesh Babu, reports Bangalore Mirror.
“While research is going on, the film will feature all the developments in his life from birth to death. His film career, political entry and everything will be there in the film,” he said.
Though there had been many plans for an NTR biopic in the past, nothing materialised. Vishnu Induri, who is producing the 1983 Cricket World Cup biopic with Kabir Khan in Hindi, will reportedly produce the NTR biopic too. “The script work is ongoing for the last three months. They met Balakrishna and explained matters, which the actor immediately accepted,” a source told Deccan Chronicle.
Who the director will be is yet to be finalised, with well-known filmmakers like Trivikram Srinivas, Puri Jagannath, Anil Ravipudi, and Deva Katta expressing keen interest in the project. The film is expected to set rolling in two months.
NTR was known to play several Hindu deities in the 1950s, soon earning the moniker ‘messiah of the masses’. He received three National Film Awards for co-producing Thodu Dongalu (1954) and Seetharama Kalyanam (1960) under National Art Theater, Madras, and directing Varakatnam (1970).
After his career in films, NTR entered politics. He founded the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) in 1982 and served three terms as Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh between 1983 and 1995. He was known as an advocate of Andhra Pradesh’s distinct cultural identity.
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Meanwhile, Balakrishna (fondly known as Balayya), has stalled the filming for his 101th film Rhythu directed by Krishna Vamsi. The 56-year-old will reportedly play a 70-year-old farmer in the movie that also has Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan in a cameo. He is also in talks with filmmaker KS Ravikumar for a lead role in a film.