N. T. Rama Rao

Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao
File:Ntrphoto.jpg
10th Chief Minister, Andhra Pradesh
Succeeded by	Chandrababu Naidu
Personal details
Born	(1923-05-28)May 28, 1923 Nimmakuru, Andhra Pradesh, India
Died	January 18, 1996(1996-01-18) (aged 72) Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India
Cause of death	Heart Attack due to intake of High dosage of Viagra and Cialis
Political party	Telugu Desam Party
Spouse	Basava Tarakam (Deceased)and Lakshmi Parvathi
Children	sons Jayakrishna, Saikrishna, Harikrishna, Mohankrishna, Balakrishna, Ramakrishna, Jayasankarkrishna, and daughters Lokeswari, Purandeshwari, Bhuvaneswari, Umamaheswari
Known for	Cinema, Politics

Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao (Template:Lang-te) (born Nimmakuru, Krishna District, Andhra Pradesh; 28 May 1923–18 January 1996), also known as NTR, was an actor, director, producer, and politician. He is the founder of Telugu Desam Party and served as Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh. He was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India in 1968, recognizing his contribution to Telugu cinema. After his career in movies, Rao 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.

Career as an actor

He started his career playing a police inspector in the movie Mana Desam (1949), encouraged by LV Prasad. Widely recognized for playing mythological characters, Rao is considered one of the two greatest actors in Telugu film industry (the other is Akkineni Nageswara Rao). His portrayal of Lord Krishna in Maya Bazaar was the turning point in his career. His portrayal of Ravana and avatars of Vishnu, especially Rama and Krishna made an entire generation associate him with these gods. He played the role of Lord Krishna in Telugu as well as in Tamil and Kannada movies.

He was well-known for his ability to deliver extremely lengthy dialogues that were original verses from the Ramayana and the Mahabharata with a fervor and command unmatched by most of his contemporaries. Generally, he played multiple roles in the same movie, which increased the number of dialogues and hence required preparation time.

Mr. Rao's formal academic training was in Telugu literature under the tutelage of the legendary literary figure Dr. Vishwanatha Satyanaraya.. Mr. Rao authored several literary works including screen plays, treatise on the meaning of various puranas. During the making of Narthanasala, Mr. Rao was trained in classical Kuchipudi and Rudra Natyam under the tutelage Dr. Vempati Satyam. Mr.Rao and Mr.Satyam created various classical mudras (poses and manarisms) for male dancers.. . These ultra masculine manarisms made it possible for male leads to dance without having to forgo the image of machoism and are now common place(colloquially called NTR manarisms). NTR was the first professional/Classical Dancer hero in telugu (Daksha Yagnam) and all telugu heroes after NTR are now required to be good dancers due to this trail blazing accomplishment of NTR.

The most notable mythological characters played by Rao are Sri Krishna (Maya Bazaar, Sri Krishnaarjuna Yuddham, Dana Veera Sura Karna), Lord Rama (Lava Kusa), Bheeshma (Bheeshma), Ravana (Bhookailasa), and Arjuna (Nartanasala). He also played social and folkloristic role; in all, he acted in over 280 movies in the lead role.

He built the Rama Krishna Film studios, and was very active in shifting the Telugu film industry from Madras to Hyderabad, the first sophisticated service industry in the agrarian state. He actively campaigned for the construction of a large number of movie theaters in rural locations and was influential in designing and implementing a financial system that funded the production and distribution of movies.

Dr. Rao produced five movies after he formally retired from the movie industry during the five years he was voted out of power. These movies 1. Major Chandrakanth 2. Samrat Ashoka 3. Srimad virat veerabramhendra swami charita 4. Srinadha Kavi Samrat 5.Vishwamitra did not accomplish financial success that was expected from Mr.Rao's films. In these films Dr. Rao chose to use extremely formal and most of the times classical telugu beyond the reach of urban and illiterate audience (his traditional fan base). Dr. Rao used these movies as vehicles for documenting his thoughts vision for the cultural, religious, financial and social future of telugus. He is quoted by the movie production staff to have said that should Telugu culture survive in Andhra another fifty years after his death, these movies would be appreciated for their value.

Politics

Initiation

In 1982, without any experience in politics but with experience of administration of the largest service industry in Andhra, Rama Rao set about campaigning with his newly-formed party Telugu Desam Party. He launched a whirl-wind tour of the state. His theme of the campaign was that "If the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh couldn't get audience with Delhi, How could a commoner get to make his voice heard?" The impact of his powerful oratory and persona was such that he swept the polls, defeating the Indian National Congress. Rao himself contested elections from the constituency of Hindupur in Anantapur District and Gudivada in Krishna district.

With a victory in the immediate election, Rama Rao formed a government and ruled the state of Andhra Pradesh for a full term ushering the modern era in the Economy of Andhra Pradesh. He went into the elections with the slogan Telugu vari Atma Gauravam, "Telugu people's self-respect." In his rule he also passed the law which gives equal rights to daughters for the inheritance of ancestral property, praised by many as the best political change he ever brought.

First Breakup of the TDP

On Independence day, August 15, 1984, Rao was removed from office by Ramlal, then governor of Andhra Pradesh, after a revolt by his aide, Nadendla Bhaskara Rao, while Rama Rao was in the United States for open heart surgery. Rao launched his "chaitanya ratham" ("back to the people agitation") on the third day after his surgery; the public agitation he inspired caused Prime Minister of India Indira Gandhi to dismiss Ramlal and appoint Shankar Dayal Sharma in his place. Nadendla Bhaskara Rao could not establish majority in the assembly in one month's time, and Sharma handed power back to Rama Rao, who dissolved the Andhra Pradesh State Assembly and asked for a fresh mandate in 1985.

Second Term

On his return to power, among the most significant changes Rao made was to abolish the Legislative Council of Andhra Pradesh, claiming it was a non-performing body which was just a burden on the state exchequer. Rao introduced administrative reforms that strengthened local governance, and strengthened the Zilla Parishad system. He introduced management reforms that held corrupt government offices accountable to elected representatives. The death of his wife, coupled with the marathon of activities that started with "chaitanya ratham" and culminated in large scale administrative reforms, left his health in poor shape. He suffered a mild stroke and was unable to campaign in the 1989 election, which he lost.

Other contributions by Dr.Rao included, the educational reforms brought about in the state. He changed the donation system for engineering and medical institutes and introduced EAMCET. He removed the grace mark system for high schools. He made it illegal for government college lecturers offering private tuitions.

- Dr.Rao created a new commando force for the state that was successful in combating 'naxalism' both ideologically and militarily. During his tenure, communal riots in Hyderabad were put rest for good; Vizag steel plant, which had been struggling since its approval in the first five year plan, went online in no small part due to his active lobbying with the central government. He divested non-performing Allwyn State Manufacturing enterprise by selling it to Mahindra Machines.

- Mr. Rao started low-income housing project and built 500,000 houses in five years to replace thached houses. The program continued for nine more years under his successor Mr. Naidu and added another 1 Million homes. The program continues to this day under Dr. Reddy's govt building another 300,000 houses under Mr. Reddy's five year term. - Mr. Rao introduced vasthra latha project and stimulated domestic textile manufacturing especially of female clothing.He recruited worldwide medical talent and improved high-end medical capabilities of the capital city, and additionally founded a medical university in Vijayawada. He did away with the feudal 'munasob' and 'karanam' system to empower elected leaders of the local government.

- - He built the largest bus station in Asia, commissioned the largest Buddha statue in the world at the time to high light the Buddhist heritage and history of Andhra. He adorned 'Tank Bund' with the statues of great literary personalities, warriors and kings of the past, thus creating a sense of heritage. He guaranteed one light bulb per house hold to give educational opportunities to the lowest economic class of rural Andhra. Consequently, Andhra Pradesh became an importer from a net electricity exporter, despite electric consumption production gains. He reformed water distribution system from the major water reservoirs in the state by giving farmer groups(raitu sangam) a say in planning.

- - 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 strong center in his discussions about state power with Mrs. Gandhi and ushered in a new era of empowered local governments, within the framework of India. The long held belief that strong states imply a weak and collapsing country is no more a political dogma that governs center state relations in India. He also lobbied and won the amendment of Hindu inheritance laws to give women equal rights in inheritance.

Third Term

He returned again to power in 1994 when he promised he would offer rice at Rs. 2/kg and to make Andhra Pradesh alcohol free. As always he delivered what he promised.

He introduced Rs2/kg rice program. While Andhra Pradesh was one of the largest producers of rice in India, its rural agricultural labor often went to bed hungry due to a food distribution system that was centrally controlled and often corrupt and in-efficient. This program was narrowly targeted at families with monthly income of Rs 500 or less($12 per month or 40 cents a day) and played a key role in reducing government induced hunger in the rice bowl of the world. This social net program was later extended to include free food for primary school children in government schools for the same income group and that scheme encouraged the single biggest drop in child labor and increase in primary school enrollment. The despicable scourge of pre-teen children working for their daily food next to cattle and machinery started receding thanks to this program.

- - All the major state subsidies like free bachelors degree education, free rail tickets for railway employees, free telephones for telecommunication employees, free electricity for electricity employees, free medical care for medical employees, free loans for bank employees, free housing for govt employees were until that date targeted at the rich and the new social net programs aimed at the poorest and the most hard working of the poor were a big political success.

Mr. directed his tourism department to invest heavily into restructuring Tirupathi, Tirumala and Amaravathi into modern tourist destinations and into spiritual capitals of Andhra.

Second Breakup of the TDP

In 1995, his son-in-law, Nara Chandrababu Naidu split Mr.Rao's party after Mr. Rao won by a land slide.. Mr Naidu convinced most of the TDP legislators to elect him as their leader, making him the chief minister.

Personal life

Rao's first marriage was to Basavatarakam; after her death he married Lakshmi Parvathi (who established Anna TDP). He had seven sons and four daughters. Among his daughters, notable are Bhuvaneswari, wife of Nara Chandrababu Naidu (the vice-chairperson of Heritage Foods); and Daggubati Purandeswari, MP for the Indian National Congress Party and wife of Daggubati Venkateswara Rao. Among his sons, notable are Nandamuri Balakrishna, an actor in the Telugu film industry; and Nandamuri Harikrishna, an actor and politician. He has several grandchildren, the most notable among whom is N. T. Rama Rao Jr.

N.T. Rama Rao died on 18 January 1996 of a heart attack within months after he was deposed by his son-in-law

Filmography

Main article: N T Rama Rao filmography

External links

• N T Rama Rao at JustTollywood
• Anna NTR Website with lots of NTR photos

Gallery

• NTR Gallery