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N. T. Rama Rao

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Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao
నందమూరి తారక రామారావు
10th Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh
In office
9 January 1983 – 16 August 1984
Preceded byKotla Vijaya Bhaskara Reddy
Succeeded byNadendla Bhaskara Rao
In office
16 September 1984 – 2 December 1989
Preceded byNadendla Bhaskara Rao
Succeeded byMarri Chenna Reddy
In office
12 December 1994 – 1 September 1995
Preceded byKotla Vijaya Bhaskara Reddy
Succeeded byNara Chandrababu Naidu
Personal details
Born
Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao

(1923-05-28) 28 May 1923 (age 101)
Nimmakuru, Madras Presidency, British India
Died18 January 1996(1996-01-18) (aged 72)
Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India
Cause of deathCardiac arrest
Political partyTelugu Desam Party (1982-1996)
Other political
affiliations		National Front (1989-1996)
Spouse(s)Basava Tarakam (1944-1985)
Lakshmi Parvathi (1993-1996)
ChildrenNandamuri Ramakrishna Sr.
Nandamuri Harikrishna
Nandamuri Balakrishna
Nandamuri Mohana Krishna
Nandamuri Jayakrishna
Nandamuri Ramakrishna Jr.
Nandamuri Saikrishna
Daggubati Purandeswari
Nara Bhuvaneswari
Lokeswari
Uma Maheswari
Alma materAndhra-Christian College, Guntur
AwardsPadma Shri (1968)

Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao (28 May 1923 – 18 January 1996), popularly known by his initials NTR, was an Indian film actor, director, producer, and politician who also served as the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh for three terms.

NTR made his debut as an actor in a Telugu social film Mana Desam, directed by L. V. Prasad in 1949. He first gained popularity in the 195'0s when he became well known for his portrayals of Hindu deities, especially Krishna and Rama,[1] roles which have made him a "messiah of the masses" in Andhra Pradesh.[2] He later became known for portraying antagonistic characters and Robin Hood-esque hero characters in films. In total he starred in over 320 Telugu films and has become one of the most prominent figures in the history of Telugu cinema.[3] Besides Telugu, he has also acted in a few Tamil and Kannada films.[4] Widely recognised for his mythological characters, of the time, NTR is considered even today as one of the leading mythological and method actors of Indian cinema,[5] He was referred to in the media as Viswa Vikhyatha Nata Sarvabhouma.[6] He was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India in 1968, recognizing his contribution to Telugu cinema.

After his career in films, Rama Rao entered politics. Rao founded the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) in 1982 and served three tumultuous terms as Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh between 1983 and 1995. He was known as an advocate of Andhra Pradesh's distinct cultural identity, distinguishing it from the erstwhile Madras State with which it was often associated. He was instrumental in the formation of the National Front, a coalition of non-Congress parties which ruled India from 1989 till 1991.[7]

In Andhra Pradesh, he is considered to be one of the greatest political leaders and actors of the state. He is idolised by his followers as Annagaru (lit. Respected Brother).

Early life

NTR was born on 28 May 1923 in Nimmakuru, a small village in Gudivada taluk of Krishna District, which was a part of the erstwhile Madras State of British India, to a Kamma farming couple Nandamuri Lakshmiah Chowdhury and Venkata Ramamma. NTR had his early education from tutor Valluru Subba Rao in his native village. His later childhood was spent with his uncle Ramaiah in Yanamalakuduru, a small village near Vijayawada on the banks of the river Krishna, where he studied at the Gandhi Municipal School[8]. From a young age he showed an interest in singing and developed a baritone singing voice as a young man.[5] He was also a good painter, and had won a prize in a state-level painting competition[8].

NTR passed the matriculation examination in 1940 and joined the SRR and CVR College in Vijayawada for pursuing his Intermediate course. While doing his Intermediate course, he supplemented the family income by supplying milk to hotels in Vijayawada on his bicycle, ran a small provision store and worked as a clerk[8]. At the end of the first year of his Intermediate course, the students of the college decided to stage a play written by Viswanadha Satyanarayana, the well-known Telugu poet and writer and the head of the Telugu department of the college. NTR played a female role in that play[8].

NTR joined the Andhra-Christian College at Guntur for pursuing his Bachelor of Arts course in 1945. During this time, he started performing and directing many stage plays like Chesina Paapam along with Kongara Jaggayya, Mukkamala and K. V. S. Sarma[8]. After his graduation, NTR passed the Madras Service Commission Exam and settled down in a sub registrar’s job at Mangalagiri. He later quit this job to pursue acting[8].

Personal life

In May 1942, at the age of 20, NTR married Basava Tarakam, the daughter of his maternal uncle. The couple had seven sons Nandamuri Rama Krishna, Nandamuri Jayakrishna, Harikrishna, Balakrishna and late Nandamuri Saikrishna, Jayashankara krishna and Mohana krishna and four daughters Daggubati Purandareswari, Lokeswari, Bhuvaneswari and Uma Maheswari.[9]

Commemorating his son Ramakrishna, who predeceased him, NTR founded the film studio Ramakrishna Studios in Nacharam. Nandamuri Harikrishna is a child actor-turned-politician elected to the Rajya Sabha, representing Telugu Desam party. Nandamuri Balakrishna is one of the lead actors of the Telugu film industry, while Jayakrishna was a noted cinematographer. NTR's grandsons N. T. Rama Rao Jr., Nandamuri Kalyan Ram and Taraka Ratna are all actors in Telugu cinema[10]

While, Bhuvaneswari is the spouse of politician Nara Chandrababu Naidu, the former Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh.Daggubati Purandareswari is a politician currently serving as the Minister for Commerce and Industry.

Acting career

N. T. Rama Rao started his career playing a police inspector in the movie Mana Desam (1949 ). The role was offered by director L V Prasad. Next he appeared in Palletoori Pilla, directed by B. A. Subba Rao.[11] It marked the first occasion that Rama Rao and Akkineni Nageswara Rao acted together for the first time.The title role was played by Anjali Devi and the story was loosely based on the English play, Pizaro by Richard Sherton. The film was a commercial hit and ran for more than 100 days in 6 centres. He appeared in over 320 films, although only around 292 films are often accounted for.[5]

He portrayed Lord Krishna in some of the landmark films in Telugu like Maya Bazaar, Sri Krishnarjuna Yudham and Daana Veera Soora Karna. He played Lord Rama in Lava Kusa, Ravana in Bhookailas (1958 film) & Seetharama Kalyanam, Bruhannala in Narthanasala. He has also enacted the roles of Bheeshma and Arjuna. Later he became a screenwriter. Rao received no formal academic training in movie script writing. Yet he authored several screen plays for his own movies as well as for other producer's movies.

He actively campaigned for the construction of a large number of cinemas through his film production house National art theater private limited in T. Nagar.[12] He was influential in designing and implementing a financial system that funded the production and distribution of movies.[13]

Political career

Main article: Chief Ministership of N. T. Rama Rao

First term

Rao founded the Telugu Desam Party in 1980 and served as Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh. His stated reason for founding the party was based on a historic need to rid the state of the corrupt and inept Congress rule.[14] When he started his political career he was already a very popular actor in the Telugu film industry.[15] Rama Rao was unanimously elected leader of Telugu Dasam Legislature Party on 8 January 1983 with 10 cabinet ministers and five ministers of State.[16] He became the 10th Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh and was reelected three times between 1983 and 1994.[5]
Hari Krishna:
To promote the Telugu Desam Party, Rama Rao travelled across the state of Andhra Pradesh, crisscrossing all the districts, in his van dubbed "Chaitanya Ratham" (Chaitanyam literally means bringing to life or movement). With his son Hari Krishna as a driver, Rama Rao notched up over 75,000 kilometres during his 1982 campaign, a distinctive sight with the van's yellow party flags and banners and Rao sitting on top of the vehicle hailing the crowds.[17] Rama Rao campaigned for restoring the dignity of the Telugu people and advocated the forming a closer bond between the government and the common people, going into the elections with the slogan, Telugu vari Atma Gauravam, meaning "Telugu people's self-respect.[18] He reflected socialist views in several of his policies in that he believed that state must take care of the people that are below poverty line and everyone must have their basic necessities fulfilled. He campaigned to secure basic necessities such as home, clothes and food for the people and to provide subsidies on clothes and houses to the needy. He was also an advocate of women's rights and worked on a bill to amend inheritance law to provide equal rights for women to inherit ancestral property, enacted later, in 1986.

Rama Rao's extensive tour in the Chaitanya Ratham vehicle helped to successfully mobilize people and recruit potential leaders and members for his newly founded party. The Congress Party, then in power, panicked at the response and replaced the Chief Minister Bhavanam Venkataram with a more experienced and seasoned leader, Kotla Vijaya Bhaskara Reddy. Reddy, who was Chief Minister for just over 3 months, could not secure victory for the Congress Party in the ensuing elections in January 1983.[19] The newly formed Telugu Desam Party won with significant margins in all three regions of the State (Coastal Andhra, Rayala Seema, and Telengana), winning over 250 seats in the 294 seat State Assembly against 56 seats by the Congress Party. Rama Rao himself contested elections from two constituencies, Tirupathi in Chittor District[20] and Gudivada in Krishna district, and won both the seats.[21]

On Independence Day, 15 August 1984, Rama Rao was removed from office by the then-governor Ramlal.[19] His finance minister, Nadendla Bhaskara Rao, a former Congress man, was made the Chief Minister by the Ramlal. Bhaskar Rao purportedly had the support of majority MLAs (Members of Legislative Assembly of Andhra Pradesh) which was never the case. Rama Rao 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).[19] Governor Ramlal did not relent and Rama Rao campaigned for restoration of democracy by mobilizing the support of people and various political parties in the country including Janata Party, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Communist Party of India (CPI), Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPM), Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), and National Conference. During the one month crisis, the MLAs supporting Rama Rao were secured in a secret place to avoid horse-trading. Due to mobilization of several political parties and the people and due to bad press, Indira Gandhi, then Prime Minister and head of Congress Party, unwillingly removed Governor Ramlal and appointed a congress party veteran, Shankar Dayal Sharma, as governor of Andhra Pradesh to pave the way for restoring Rama Rao.[22] Shankar Dayal Sharma removed Bhaskara Rao from power and restored Rama Rao as the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh in September 1984. He recommended dissolution of the Assembly and called for new elections in the state to ensure the people had a fresh choice to elect their representatives.

In the following month, on 31 October 1984, Indira Gandhi was assassinated. Rajiv Gandhi became Prime Minister in her place. In the ensuing national elections to the Lok Sabha, the Congress party won convincingly all over the country except in Andhra Pradesh where Rama Rao's Telugu Desam party secured a landslide victory. Senior Leaders of Congress party including Brahmananda Reddy, a former Chief Minister, and Vijaya Bhaskara Reddy, a former Chief Minister, lost in their constituencies of Narasarao Pet and Kurnool respectively to the Telugu Desam Party. Telugu Desam became the main opposition party in the Lok Sabha.

Second term

The Telugu Desam Party operations were significantly computerized and a systematic local party structure was built and this resulted in the establishment of a stable second political party that survived his death. Rao introduced the concept of strong states with a strong center in his discussions about state power with Gandhi and ushered in a new era of empowered local governments, within the framework of India.

He suffered a mild stroke and was unable to campaign in the 1989 election, which he lost.

Third term and coup

N.T. Rama Rao returned to power in 1994 winning 250 seats (Telugu Desam won 226; CPI: 19; CPM: 05) for his party and his allies in a 294 seat Assembly. Congress party won only 26 seats. The BJP which contested 280 seats on its own won just three seats.

A few months into his third term, Rama Rao was unceremoniously overthrown as Chief minister. On 23 August, Rama Rao's son-in-law Chandrababu Naidu engineered an internal party coup against him and assumed the post of Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh on 1 September 1995. He was also chosen as president of the Telugu Desam Party by party members.[23] Naidu is said to have convinced most of the members by stating that Rama Rao was going to hand over the reins to his wife Lakshmi Parvati and claimed that the party was in danger of disintegrating under her rule. Some 150 MLAs sided with Naidu and camped at the Viceroy Hotel in Hyderabad, the centre of the revolt.[24] Rama Rao's sons Nandamuri Harikrishna, Nandamuri Balakrishna and son-in-law Daggubati Venkateswara Rao played a crucial role in the coup but fell out with Naidu soon afterwards.[25] Naidu is said have promised to make Venkateswara Rao, the Deputy Chief minister and Harikrishna, the party's general secretary, but he sidelined them soon after becoming the Chief minister and Party president.[24] According to Daggubati Venkateswara Rao, Naidu is said to have gained support of party MLAs by misrepresenting facts and stating that he was saving the party.[24][26]

Daggubati Venkateswara Rao fell out with Naidu within 15 days and returned to the Rama Rao camp. He claimed that Rama Rao had such a hatred of Naidu that he had asked his film actor son Nandamuri Balakrishna to 'murder' Naidu and show him the sword stained with Naidu's blood.[26] Venkateswara Rao clarified saying "I don't think he really meant to kill him but, unable to give voice to his pain, he said that".[26] In an emotional interview after the coup, Rama Rao called the coup a "planned treachery" and ridiculed Naidu for being power-hungry and untrustworthy, likening him to Aurangzeb, the Mughal Emperor who jailed his father and killed his siblings to become the King of the Mughal Empire.[27]

NTR's first wife, Basava Tarakam, died of cancer in 1985. The Basavatarakam Indo American Cancer Hospital & Research Institute was established in her memory in Hyderabad. In 1993, at the age of 70, NTR married Lakshmi Parvathi. After the succession of Telugu Desam party by Nara Chandrababu Naidu, Lakshmi Parvathi founded her own political party NTR Telugu Desam Party (Lakshmi Parvathi).[28]

State Awards in the honor of N.T. Rama Rao

NTR National Award

NTR National Award is a National level Award instituted in 1996, in the honor of N.T. Rama Rao by Andhra Pradesh Government. The NTR National Award is an annual award to recognize people for their lifetime achievements and contributions to the Indian film industry. The Award carries a cash prize of ₹ 500,000/- and a memento.[29]

NTR National Literary Award

This Award instituted in the honor of N.T. Rama Rao by Lakshmi parvathi, the chairperson of NTR Vignan Trust as an annual award to recognize people for their lifetime achievements and contributions in Indian Literature. [30]

Notable filmography

Main article: N T Rama Rao filmography
Year Film Role Notes
1949 Mana Desam Police Officer NTR's First Film
1950 Palletoori Pilla Jayanth First film as actor in lead role
Shavukar Satyam
1951 Patala Bhairavi Thota Ramudu
Malliswari Nagaraju
1952 Pelli Chesi Choodu Ramana
Palletooru Chandram
1954 Thodu Dongalu Paramesam National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Telugu - Certificate of Merit[31][32]
Rechukka Kannaiah Rao acted in the lead role as prince
Raju Peda Dual role, as Prince and the Pauper
1955 Missamma
Kanyasulkam Gireesam
Jayasimha Jayasimha
1956 Tenali Ramakrishna Sri Krishna Deva Raya All India Certificate of Merit for Best Feature Film and National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Telugu[33]
Chiranjeevulu Mohan
1957 Vinayaka Chaviti Lord Krishna
Bhagya Rekha Ravi National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Telugu[34]
Sarangadhara Vijay Kumar
Panduranga Mahatyam Pundarikudu
Mayabazar Lord Sri Krishna
1958 Bhookailas Ravana
1959 Rajamakutam Prince Pratap
1960 Bhatti Vikramarka Vikramarka Maharaju
Sri Venkateswara Mahatyam Srimaha Vishnu / Srinivasa
Seetharama Kalyanam Ravana National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Telugu - Certificate of Merit[35]
1961 Jagadeka Veeruni Katha Yuvaraju Prathap
1962 Sri Srikakula Andhra Mahavishnuvu Katha Yuvaraju Vallabhadevudu
Gulebakavali Katha Vijay
Bhishma Bhishmudu
Dakshayagnam Lord Shiva
Raktha Sambandham Raju
Gundamma Katha Anjaneya Prasad
Sri Krishnarjuna Yudham Lord Krishna
Mahamantri Timmarusu (film) Sri Krishnadevaraya National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Telugu[36]
1963 Lava Kusha Lord Rama National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Telugu[37]
Nartanasala Arjuna/Bruhannala National Film Award for Second Best Feature Film[37]
1964 Ramudu Bheemudu Dual Role, Ramudu & bheemudu
Karnan Lord Krishna
Gudi Gantalu
1965 Pandava Vanavasam Bheemudu
1966 Shri Krishna Pandaviyam Duryodhana and Krishna Pauranic film, also director
Palnati Yudham King National Film Award for Second Best Feature Film[38]
1967 Ummadi Kutumbam
Shri Krishnavataram Lord Krishna
Aada Paduchu satyam
1968 Varakatnam Devasimha National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Telugu, also director
Chitti Chellelu
1969 Kathanayakudu
1970 Kodalu Diddina Kapuram
1971 Sri Krishna Satya Lord Krishna
1972 Badi Panthulu Raghava Rao
(Head Master of Government School) 		Filmfare Best Actor Award (Telugu)
1973 Devudu Chesina Manushulu
1974 Nippulanti Manishi
1977 Yamagola Ramu/Satyam
Daana Veera Soora Karna Karna, Duryodhana, and Krishna
Adavi Ramudu Ramu
1980 Sardar Paparayudu Sardar Paparayudu & Gopi(Dual Role)
1984 Shrimad Virat Veerabrahmendra Swami Charitra Veerabrahmendra Swami Biographical Film acted and directed by NTR
1993 Major Chandrakanth Chandrakanth
1994 Bhrmaharshi Vishwamitra Vishwamithra

Awards

National Film Awards
Filmfare Awards South
Honours

See also

References

  1. ^ McGirk, Tim (19 January 1996). "Obituary: N. T. Rama Rao". London: The Independent. Retrieved 1996-01-19. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  2. ^ Burns, John F. (19 January 1996). "N. T. Rama Rao, 72, Is Dead; Star Status Infused His Politics". The New York Times. Retrieved 1996-01-19. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  3. ^ "N.T. Rama Rao (1923 - 1995): A messiah of the masses". The Hindu. Retrieved 9 December 2002.
  4. ^ Democratic Process and Electoral Politics in Andhra Pradesh, India (1997)
  5. ^ a b c d McGirk, Tim (19 January 1996). "Obituary: N. T. Rama Rao". London: The Independent. Retrieved 31 May 2010. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  6. ^ http://www.newsofap.com/art-339-nt-rama-rao-biography-profile.html
  7. ^ http://www.frontlineonnet.com/fl2108/stories/20040423008101400.htm
  8. ^ a b c d e f http://www.nandamurifans.com/biography/ntr/001.html
  9. ^ "Cities / Vijayawada : Rich tributes paid to N.T. Rama Rao". The Hindu. 19 January 2012. Retrieved 3 August 2012.
  10. ^ "Andhra Pradesh / Vijayawada News : Nandamuri family fully supports Naidu, says Harikrishna". The Hindu. 3 November 2008. Retrieved 3 August 2012.
  11. ^ "History of Telugu Cinema". Indian cinemas. Retrieved 31 May 2010.
  12. ^ "Directorate of Film Festival" (PDF). Iffi.nic.in. Retrieved 3 August 2012.
  13. ^ N.T. Rama Rao, All Movie Guide
  14. ^ "Telugu Desam Party turns 29, NT Rama Rao remembered". DNA India. Retrieved 31 May 2010.
  15. ^ Shankar, Kalyani (2005). Gods of power: personality cult & Indian democracy. Macmillan India. p. 122. ISBN 1403925100, 97. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help)
  16. ^ S. Nagendra Ambedkar (1992). Political elite. Printwell, with special arrangement from Rupa Books. ISBN 8170443415.
  17. ^ "The original ratham". Chennai, India: The Hindu. 17 April 2009. Retrieved 31 May 2010. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  18. ^ ""Pavan Kalyan does a star turn". Chennai, India: The Hindu. 2 April 2009. Retrieved 31 May 2010. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  19. ^ a b c Murty (2001), p.48
  20. ^ "Leaders pay glowing tributes to party founder N.T.Rama Rao". Chennai, India: The Hindu. 30 March 2010. Retrieved 31 May 2010. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  21. ^ The new voter: a study of the voting behaviour of the youth in Andhra Pradesh. Booklinks Corp. 1994. p. 26. ISBN 8185194262.
  22. ^ Murty (2001), p.49
  23. ^ "N. Chandrababu Naidu". The Times of India. Retrieved 10 March 2012. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  24. ^ a b c Rao-legacy-bickering-goes-on.htm "Rama Rao legacy: The bickering hots up". Rediff.com. 20 March 2009. Retrieved 10 March 2012. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
  25. ^ Economic and Political Weekly. Sameeksha Trust. 1997. p. 283. Retrieved 10 March 2012.
  26. ^ a b c "Revealed: Rama Rao's intense hatred for Chandrababu Naidu". Rediff.com. 19 March 2009. Retrieved 10 March 2012.
  27. ^ NTR Interview. TV9. Retrieved 10 March 2012.
  28. ^ "Cities / Visakhapatnam : 'NTR an unparalleled leader'". The Hindu. 19 January 2012. Retrieved 3 August 2012.
  29. ^ "Ilayaraja, Ambarish, Krishna get NTR award". Hyderabad: The Hindu, Business Line. 30 August 2007. Retrieved 4 January 2012. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  30. ^ "NTR literary Award for Ashoka Mitran". Hyderabad: The Hindu, Business Line. 4 May 2012. Retrieved 23 September 2012. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  31. ^ http://www.idlebrain.com/celeb/starow/sow-ntr.html
  32. ^ "2nd National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Retrieved 23 August 2011.
  33. ^ "4th National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Retrieved September 02, 2011. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  34. ^ "5th National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Retrieved September 02, 2011. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  35. ^ "8th National Film Awards". International Film Festival of India. Retrieved September 07, 2011. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  36. ^ "10th National Film Awards". International Film Festival of India. Retrieved September 09, 2011. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  37. ^ a b "11th National Film Awards". International Film Festival of India. Retrieved 13 September 2011.
  38. ^ "13th National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Retrieved 15 September 2011.
  39. ^ "National Film Awards - 1969". Hindilyrics.net. Retrieved 3 August 2012.

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