Jump to content

N. T. Rama Rao

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Jrntr (talk | contribs) at 06:51, 9 February 2012 (tag). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

This article is about Cinema career of N. T. Rama Rao. For the Political career, see Chief Ministership of N. T. Rama Rao.

Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao
నందమూరి తారక రామారావు
Personal details
Born(1923-05-28)28 May 1923
Nimmakuru, Krishna District, Madras Presidency, British India
Died18 January 1996(1996-01-18) (aged 72)
Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India
Cause of deathMyocardial infarction
Spouse(s)Basava Tarakam (deceased) and Lakshmi Parvathi
Children(sons) Jayakrishna, Saikrishna, Harikrishna, Mohankrishna, Balakrishna, Ramakrishna, Jayasankarkrishna, (daughters) Lokeswari, Purandeshwari, Bhuvaneswari and Uma Maheswari
Known forCinema, Politics

Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao (Telugu: నందమూరి తారక రామారావు) (born Nimmakuru, Krishna District, Andhra Pradesh; 28 May 1923 – 18 January 1996), 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 1950s as "messiah of the masses" [1] and has become one of the most prominent figures in the history of Telugu Cinema.[2] 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.[3] "NTR" starred in over 320 Telugu films, that made him a mythic figure among the Telugu-speaking people of Andhra Pradesh.[4]

He founded the Telugu Desam Party in 1982 and served three terms as Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh between 1983 and 1994. He was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India in 1968, recognising 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. Besides Telugu, he has also acted in a few Tamil and Kannada films.[5]

Early life

Born in Nimmakuru, a small village in Gudivada taluk 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 studied up to Class V in his village as there was no further education there, Ramaiah and his wife took their adopted son to Vijayawada and got him admitted into Class VI in the municipal school. He spent the following seven years in Yanamalakuduru, a small village near Vijayawada by the banks of river Krishna, at the home of D. Buchi Venkata Krishna Chowdary. He passed the matriculation examination 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 Viswanadha 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.[6] He is the one selected as a first 7 members in Madras public service commisson out of 1100 members.

Personal life

In May 1942, at the age of 20, NTR married Basava Tarakam, the daughter of his maternal uncle. The couple had eight 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. [7]

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[8]

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 of State in the Ministry of Human Resource Development.

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.[9]

Career in Cinema

File:NTRamarao.jpg
Rama Rao in Bobbili Puli (1982)

Widely recognised for his Indian mythological characters, N.T. Rama Rao is considered one of the greatest mythological, method actors of Indian cinema, [6] He was referred to by fans as "Viswa Vikhyatha Nata Sarvabhouma".[10] 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.

It marked the first occasion that Rama Rao and Akkineni Nageswara Rao acted together for the first time.[11] 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, and he became a versatile actor in Telugu cinema.

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 & Seetharama Kalyanam, Bruhannala 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.[citation needed]

He actively campaigned for the construction of a large number of cinemas in rural locations and was influential in designing and implementing a financial system that funded the production and distribution of movies.[12]

NTR National Award

NTR National Award is a National level Award instituted in the honour of Rama Rao by the state of Andhra Pradesh government among Nandi Awards. The NTR National Award is an annual award to recognise people for their lifetime achievements and contributions to the Indian film industry. The Award carries a cash prize of ₹ 500,000/- and a memento.[13]

Notable filmography

Main article: N T Rama Rao filmography

Awards

National Film Awards
Rashtrapati Awards for best acting in 1963
Filmfare Awards South
Special honours

Political Leadership and Chief Ministership

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

See also

References

  1. ^ http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/mp/2002/12/09/stories/2002120901160200.htm
  2. ^ "N.T. Rama Rao (1923–1995): A messiah of the masses". The Hindu. India. Retrieved 9 December 2002.
  3. ^ McGirk, Tim (19 January 1996). "Obituary: N. T. Rama Rao". The Independent. UK. Retrieved 19 January 1996. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  4. ^ Burns, John F. (19 January 1996). "N. T. Rama Rao, 72, Is Dead; Star Status Infused His Politics". The New York Times. Retrieved 19 January 1996. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  5. ^ Democratic Process and Electoral Politics in Andhra Pradesh, India (1997)
  6. ^ a b McGirk, Tim (19 January 1996). "Obituary: N. T. Rama Rao". The Independent. UK. Retrieved 31 May 2010.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  7. ^ http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Vijayawada/article2814013.ece
  8. ^ http://www.hindu.com/2008/11/03/stories/2008110353320500.htm
  9. ^ http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Visakhapatnam/article2813997.ece
  10. ^ http://www.newsofap.com/art-339-nt-rama-rao-biography-profile.html
  11. ^ "History of Telugu Cinema". Indian cinemas. Retrieved 31 May 2010.
  12. ^ N.T. Rama Rao, All Movie Guide
  13. ^ "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)
  14. ^ http://iffi.nic.in/Dff2011/Frm2ndNFAAward.aspx?PdfName=2NFA.pdf
  15. ^ http://www.idlebrain.com/celeb/starow/sow-ntr.html
  16. ^ http://www.hindilyrics.net/awards/national-film-awards-1969.html

Bibliography

Template:Persondata

Template:Link FA

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=N._T._Rama_Rao&oldid=475898351"