N. T. Rama Rao
Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 10th Chief Minister, Andhra Pradesh | |
| Preceded by | Kotla Vijaya Bhaskara Reddy |
| Succeeded by | Chandrababu Naidu |
| Personal details | |
| Born | May 28, 1923 Nimmakuru, Andhra Pradesh, India |
| Died | January 18, 1996 (aged 72) Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India |
| Cause of death | Heart Attack |
| Political party | Telugu Desam Party |
| 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 for | Cinema, Politics |
Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao (Telugu: నందమూరి తారక రామా రావు) (born Nimmakuru, Krishna District, Andhra Pradesh; 28 May 1923–18 January 1996), also known as NTR was an Indian film actor, director, producer, and a politician. Widely recognised for his Indian mythological characters, N.T. Rama Rao is considered one of the finest mythological, method actors of Indian cinema, [1] He was referred to in the media as "Viswa Vikhyatha Nata Sarvabhouma".[2]
He first gained popularity in the early 1950s as "messiah of the masses" and has become one of the most prominent figures in the history of Telugu Cinema.[3] 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 was best known for his portrayals of Hindu deities, especially Lord Krishna and Lord Rama.[4] "NTR" starred in over 320 Telugu films, that made him a mythic figure among the Telugu-speaking people of Andhra Pradesh.[5] Besides Telugu, he has also acted in a few Tamil and Kannada films.[6] He was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India in 1968, recognizing his contribution to Indian 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. He founded the Telugu Desam Party in 1982 and served 3 tumultuous terms as Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh between 1983 and 1994.
Early life
Born in Nimmakuru, a small village in Gudivada taluk on May 28, 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 Classs 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 'Kavi Samrat' 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.[1]
Career as an actor
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.[7] 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 legend in Telugu cinema.[1] He often portrayed Hindu mythological god or hero but also made an ideal villain.[1]
He portrayed Lord Krishna in Maya Bazaar, Sri Krishnarjuna Yudham, Daana Veera Soora Karna, Lord Rama in (Lava Kusa), Bheeshma (Bheeshma) & Ravana (Bhookailasa), and Arjuna (Nartanasala). 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 movie theaters in rural locations and was influential in designing and implementing a financial system that funded the production and distribution of movies.[8]
Political career
First term
Rao founded the Telugu Desam Party in 1982 and served as Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh. His reason for founding the Telugu Desam Party was based on a historic need to rid the state of the corrupt and inept Congress rule.[9] When he started his political career he was already a very popular actor in the Telugu film industry.[10] Rama Rao was unanimously elected leader of Telugu Dasam Legislature Party on January 8, 1983 with 10 cabinet ministers and five ministers of State.[11] He became the 10th Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh and was reelected three times between 1983 and 1994.[1]
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.[12] 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.[13] 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.[14] 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 200 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[15] and Gudivada in Krishna district, and won both the seats.[16]
On Independence Day, 15 August 1984, NTR was removed from office by the then governor Ramlal.[14] 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).[14] 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.[17] 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
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.
Palace Coup
A few months into his Third term NTR was unceremoniously overthrown as Chief minister. On August 23,1995 NTR's son-in-law Chandrababu Naidu engineered a internal party coup against him and took over 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.[18]
Naidu is said have convinced most of the members by stating that NTR 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. 3/4th of the MLAs sided with Naidu and camped at the Viceroy Hotel in Hyderabad(the center of the revolt). [19]NTR's sons Nandamuri Harikrishna,Nandamuri Balakrishna and son-in-law Daggubati Venkateswara Rao played a crucial role in the coup.But had a fall out with Naidu soon after. 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[20] According to Daggubati Venkateswara Rao, Naidu is said to have gained support of party MLA's by misrepresenting facts and stating that he was saving the party.[21].[22]
Daggubati Venkateswara Rao had a fall out with Naidu within 15 days and returned to the NTR camp.said that being involved in the coup was his biggest sin. He claimed that NTR felt so bitter against Naidu that he had asked his film actor son Nandamuri Balakrishna to 'murder' Naidu and show him the sword stained with Naidu's blood.[23].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".[24].
In an emotional Interview after the coup NTR likened Naidu to Aurangzeb,The Mughal Emperor who jailed his father and killed his siblings to become the King of the Mughal Empire.He said it was unfortunate that the same was being repeated by Naidu after hundreds of years. He said that he was sadden that a person from his family had betrayed and insulted all Telugu speaking people and had bought disgrace to democracy. He ridiculed Naidu for being power hungry and untrustworthy. He said that Naidu had been building ground for a coup from the very beginning by distributing money and creating his own group within the party to destabilize it and claim power when the opportunity arose. He called the coup a 'Planed Treachery'. [25]
Personal life
In May 1942, when he was 20, Rama Rao married Basava Tarakam, the daughter of his maternal uncle. She died of cancer in 1985. There is a cancer Hospital established in her memory in Hyderabad. NTR remarried in 1993 at the age of 70. The couple had seven sons and four daughters. Prominent among his children are Bhuvaneswari, wife of Nara Chandrababu Naidu,the former chief minister of AP for 9 years, Daggubati Purandeswari, MP and a Minister of State for Human Resources in Manmohan Singh's cabinet, Nandamuri Balakrishna a prominent actor in the Telugu film industry, and Nandamuri Harikrishna, an actor turned politician and a member of Rajya Sabha (upper house of India's Parliament).Prominent among NTR's grandchildren are N. T. Rama Rao Jr., Kalyan Ram and Taraka Ratna, all three are actors in Telugu cinema.NTR later took a second wife, Lakshmi Parvathi who after being widowed and the succession of TDP by Nara Chandra Babu Naidu founded her own party called the NTR Telugu Desam Party (Lakshmi Parvathi).
NTR National Award
NTR National Award is a National level Award instituted in the honor of Sri.N.T.Rama Rao by the state of 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. It is an award considered in prestige next only to Dadasaheb Phalke Award for film industry personalities in India. The Award carries a cash prize of ₹ 500,000/- and a memento..[26] The award has been given since 1996.
Notable filmography
Awards
National Film Award
- 1961 - National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Telugu - Certificate of Merit - Seetharama Kalyanam - NTR
- 1968 - National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Telugu - Silver Medal - Varakatnam - NTR
Special Honours
- Padmashri Award from Government Of India
- 1978 — Honorary Doctorate from Andhra University.
Filmfare Best Actor Award (Telugu)
- 1954 — Best Actor for Raju Peda
- 1955 — Best Actor for Missamma
- 1956 — Best Actor for Chiranjeevulu
- 1957 — Best Actor for Panduranga Mahatyam
- 1958 — Best Actor for Bhookailas
- 1961 — Best Actor for Jagadekaveeruni Katha
- 1962 — Best Actor for Raktha Sambandham
- 1966 — Best Actor for Shri Krishna Pandaviyam
- 1968 — Best Actor for Chitti Chellelu
- 1972 — Best Actor for Badi Panthulu
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e McGirk, Tim (1996). "Obituary: N. T. Rama Rao". The Independent. Retrieved May 31, 2010.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "N.T. Rama Rao (1923 - 1995): Nata Sarvabhouma". News of AP. Retrieved 2012-10-03.
- ^ "N.T. Rama Rao (1923 - 1995): A messiah of the masses". The Hindu. Retrieved 2002-12-09.
- ^ "Obituary: N. T. Rama Rao". The Independent. Retrieved 1996-01-19.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ "N. T. Rama Rao, 72, Is Dead; Star Status Infused His Politics". The New York Times. Retrieved 1996-01-19.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ Democratic Process and Electoral Politics in Andhra Pradesh, India (1997)
- ^ "History of Telugu Cinema". Indian cinemas. Retrieved May 31, 2010.
- ^ N.T. Rama Rao, All Movie Guide
- ^ "Telugu Desam Party turns 29, NT Rama Rao remembered". DNA India. Retrieved May 31, 2010.
- ^ 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) - ^ S. Nagendra Ambedkar (1992). Political elite. Printwell, with special arrangement from Rupa Books. ISBN 8170443415.
- ^ "The original ratham". The Hindu. April 17, 2009. Retrieved May 31, 2010.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ ""Pavan Kalyan does a star turn". The Hindu. April 2, 2009. Retrieved May 31, 2010.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ a b c Murty (2001), p.48
- ^ "Leaders pay glowing tributes to party founder N.T.Rama Rao". The Hindu. March 30, 2010. Retrieved May 31, 2010.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ The new voter: a study of the voting behaviour of the youth in Andhra Pradesh. Booklinks Corp. 1994. p. 26. ISBN 8185194262.
- ^ Murty (2001), p.49
- ^ {http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/N.-Chandrababu-Naidu-(politician)}
- ^ http://www.rediff.com/news/2009/mar/20loksabhapoll-ntr-legacy-bickering-goes-on.htm
- ^ {http://www.rediff.com/news/2009/mar/20loksabhapoll-ntr-legacy-bickering-goes-on.htm}
- ^ {http://election.rediff.com/report/2009/mar/19/loksabhapoll-intense-hatred-for-chandrababu-naidu.htm}
- ^ {http://www.rediff.com/news/2009/mar/20loksabhapoll-ntr-legacy-bickering-goes-on.htm}
- ^ {http://election.rediff.com/report/2009/mar/19/loksabhapoll-intense-hatred-for-chandrababu-naidu.htm}
- ^ {http://election.rediff.com/report/2009/mar/19/loksabhapoll-intense-hatred-for-chandrababu-naidu.htm}
- ^ {http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmnFXHU2dqo}
- ^ "Ilayaraja, Ambarish, Krishna get NTR award". Hyderabad: The Hindu, Business Line. 30 Aug 2007. Retrieved 4 Jan 2012.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help)
Bibliography
- Murty, K. R. (2001). Parties, elections, and mobilisation. Anmol Publications PVT. LTD. pp. 48–63. ISBN 8126109793, 9788126109791.
{{cite book}}: Check|isbn=value: invalid character (help)
- 1923 births
- 1996 deaths
- Indian actors
- Andhra University alumni
- Telugu film directors
- Recipients of the Padma Shri
- Telugu people
- Telugu cinema
- Chief Ministers of Andhra Pradesh
- Telugu politicians
- V. P. Singh administration
- People from Krishna
- Telugu actors
- National Film Award winners
- Filmfare Awards South winners
- Tamil film actors
- Kannada film actors