Born on May 20, 1983, N. T. Rama Rao Jr., aka Jr. NTR, is the son of noted actor and politician — Nandamuri Harikrishna and his second wife (Shalini Bhaskar Rao) and is the grandson of Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao, aka Sr. NTR, the godfather of Telugu Cinema and a revered politician, who served as the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh in the 1980s.
So, being the son of a second wife, it’s pretty obvious why Jr. NTR and his mother were not accepted in the elite family which has deep roots in films and politics even to this day. However, Sr. NTR wanted to meet Junior and instantly saw something bright and named him Tarak Rama Rao. A minimal change to his birth name, Tarak Ram, and that’s how he got his entire name — Nandamuri Tarak Rama Rao.
Related: Best Movies of Jr. NTR You Shouldn’t Miss Watching!
Jr. NTR and his mother were accepted by his grandfather and father only. But by the early 90s, Senior grew old and was not as impactful as before, both politically and in the family. So Jr. NTR was again back to square one with his extended family with many uncles and aunts. His mother is from Karnataka, and he is very close to her and the maternal side of the family.
Upon his mom’s request, Jr. NTR learned classical dance – Kuchipudi, and performed around the world at different cultural events. Subsequently, at the behest of his mother to play some sport, he played Badminton at the National level when he was just 10-11 years old. He is also a superb cook and the most popular one in the film fraternity, as stated by many of his colleagues.
He started in movies at a very young age. Brahmarshi Viswamitra marks the first screen appearance (as a child artist) of Jr. NTR, back in 1991, a comeback film of his grandfather after a 7-year hiatus from acting after leaving for politics. Interestingly, Sr. NTR made the prolific filmmaker in Tollywood (at that time), K. Raghavendra Rao, promise to help his Junior with his first film. Rao kept his promise but was not interested in directing, so he passed the project to S. S. Rajamouli, who was his assistant at that time. And that is how the sweet friendship between Jr. NTR and Rajamouli was formed.
However, Junior also signed Ninnu Choodalani simultaneously, which was released first, and Student No. 1 (the NTR x SS Rajamouli film) eventually became his second. The blockbuster combo reunited again with the 2003 drama, Simhadri, which also went on to become a massive hit. Junior also possesses a giant fan following all over the country, primarily because of his versatile acting and also for carrying his family name forward. On one of the craziest days in Tollywood’s history, the audio release event of his 2004 action film, Andhrawala, was attended by 10 lakh (1 million) people – a true testament to his popularity. However, the Puri Jagannadh-directed movie was famously bombed at the box office due to the quality and the lack of content.
Around this time, in the mid-2000s, his extended family warmed up a bit to him. They attended one or two events for his movies here and there. But he was still not part of family gatherings (of his uncles and aunts) till the mid-2010s. Even though his extended family was not supportive in his early days, and was pitching every kid in the family as the next heir of Sr. NTR, the general public and all the fans of NTR loved him. By his second film, he was a star and didn’t need help from his father’s family.
Jr. NTR had struggled with weight and went for liposuction around 2007 after S. S. Rajamouli (his close friend by then) said that he looked horrible (అశ్యఅంగా ఉన్నారు). He never tried to hide this; he talked about this in his multiple interviews. He worked again with Rajamouli for Yamadonga, a film that garnered him astounding appreciation (the 2022 global phenomenon RRR was their fourth collaboration together), and he went on to continue his success streak in many other successful films (Adhurs, Brindavanam) till 2010.
During this time, he got entangled in politics for a bit. He campaigned for his father and the Telugu Desam Party (a regional political party active in the southern Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana started by his grandfather). In more shocking news to his family, friends, and fans, he had a near-death experience in a 2009 car accident with head, temple, shoulder, and elbow injuries. His vehicle turned turtle after Junior (also the driver) couldn’t see an incoming sharp turn and hit a tree in Nalgonda dist. At this time, he was returning from the political campaign and moved out of the political scene after this incident (for obvious reasons).
From 2010 to 2014, Jr. NTR struggled as an actor, as none of his movies worked. A few even became disasters. The 2011 fantasy action Shakthi even made the producer (C. Ashwini Dutt) change professions to recoup some of the money lost. Junior voiced later that he went into depression and was not enjoying his work. His movies of this patch were very run-of-the-mill dramas (Dammu, Ramayya Vasthavayya, and Rabhasa and were blandly made. He often credited Director S. S. Rajamouli (who he lovingly calls “Jakkana”) for helping him realize what he wanted to do during this phase.
Jr. NTR got married during this not-so-great phase (in 2011). An arranged marriage and his wife is from an influential business family. She was just 18, and he was 26/27 when they got wedded. A little timeline rewind, during the time of his 2006 film, Ashok, he got into a short-lived relationship with his co-star Sameera Reddy. None of them has admitted the relationship, of course. According to him, when he became a father in 2014, he was changed, he got clarity in life and maybe new enthusiasm to do good work. He was a better man in terms of looks, personality, and as an actor with his next film, all for the better
Since 2015 Jr. NTR acted in six films, and they went on to become super hits at the box office. Around this time, his extended family again started to get close to him. This time they started inviting him to family functions. Between all this, he grew close to his step-siblings (children of his father from his first marriage). He is very close to his older stepbrother Kalyan Ram, also an actor. He lost his dad (2018) and another older stepbrother (2014) in a car accident. Car journeys don’t seem to suit the family. His uncle (Nandamuri Balakrishna) is also a prolific actor in the industry, and an active politician.
Jr. NTR is a great actor (one of the most beloved), a fantastic dancer, and can sing (won a Mirchi Music Award for Geleya Geleya, a song he sang in Kannada, a language that he’s not very fluent in). He is a terrific chef and funny, and can speak multiple languages. This sums up why I (who is not from the State or understands the language of the movies he acts in) went into a rabbit hole researching him. I have this habit of watching all the movies and interviews of actors I love. Jackie Chan was the hardest to cover due to the insane number of films he starred in.
If you made it here, here are a few Jr. NTR movie recommendations:
There are many other movies adored by his fans and are blockbusters, but either they didn’t age well, or there is nothing good in most of them apart from his acting (in my personal opinion).
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