Junior NTR was mocked for his looks and weight, today he is a global icon.
Junior NTR is counted among the big stars not just of Tollywood today, but of all Indian cinema. Junior NTR, who carried forward the film legacy of his grandfather N. T. Rama Rao, won a National Award at the age of 13. Sometimes he was trolled for his looks and weight, and sometimes millions of fans gathered just to catch a glimpse of him.
Reportedly, 10 lakh people had attended the audio launch of ‘Andhrawala’. Junior NTR’s personal life has also been in the news. His wedding was counted among the most expensive celebrity weddings of that era, with reports of approximately ₹100 crore being spent. In 2009, while returning from election campaigning, he was a victim of a terrible road accident and witnessed death closely.
The deaths of his brother and father in road accidents broke him completely from within and he distanced himself from films. But four years later, he made such a comeback with RRR that he became a global star.
On Junior NTR’s 43rd birthday, let’s know some interesting stories related to his life.
Grandfather’s Legacy, Political Dominance
Junior NTR is today a pan-India superstar, but his identity has not remained limited to films alone. He comes from an influential family of Telugu cinema and Andhra Pradesh politics. His grandfather NTR (N. T. Rama Rao) was a superstar actor as well as the founder of Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and three-time Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh.
NTR married Basavatarakam in 1943. The couple had 12 children, including 8 sons and 4 daughters. Later, this very family came to be considered extremely powerful in the Telugu film industry and politics. Many members of the family became big political and film personalities.
NTR’s Sons: Dominance in Films, Politics and Business
Among NTR’s sons, the most prominent names were Nandamuri Harikrishna and Nandamuri Balakrishna. Harikrishna was an actor as well as a major TDP leader and Rajya Sabha MP. Meanwhile, Nandamuri Balakrishna is a superstar of Telugu films and is active in politics.
Other sons of the family were also involved in different roles. Nandamuri Ramakrishna Senior was associated with film production and production activities. Nandamuri Jayakrishna handled film distribution and business. Nandamuri Saikrishna was involved in business affairs.
Nandamuri Mohankrishna was part of the film and business network. Nandamuri Harinath remained relatively away from public life. Nandamuri Ramakrishna Junior was active in family film and business activities. In the next generation, Junior NTR, Kalyan Ram and other artists made their name in films.
Daughters also connected with major political families
NTR’s daughters were also active in politics and social activities. Daggubati Purandeswari was a BJP leader and former Union Minister. Bhuvaneswari Nara is the wife of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu. Lokeswari was active in social and family activities.
Uma Maheswari remained part of the family and was in discussions from time to time. This is why the N. T. Rama Rao family is considered the most influential political-film family of Andhra Pradesh.
Second Marriage and Increased Political Controversy in the Family
After Basavatarakam’s demise, NTR married Lakshmi Parvathi in 1993. Lakshmi Parvathi was a writer and the two grew close while she was writing NTR’s biography.
They had no children from this marriage. This relationship remained quite controversial and many family members were against it. Later, there was a major political struggle within the family and the party. After NTR’s demise, Lakshmi Parvathi formed a separate party, but she did not achieve much political success.
Junior NTR (in the middle) with his grandfather N. T. Rama Rao (on the left) and father Nandamuri Harikrishna (on the right) on a film set in childhood.
Whose son is Junior NTR?
Junior NTR is the son of Nandamuri Harikrishna and Shalini Bhaskar Rao, who were the son of NTR (N. T. Rama Rao). He is the grandson from the family line of NTR and his first wife Basavatarakam.
Junior NTR’s father Nandamuri Harikrishna had two marriages. His first wife was Lakshmi Kumari, with whom he had Kalyan Ram, Janaki Ram and Suhasini.
According to Times of India reports, there was displeasure in the family regarding Harikrishna’s second marriage and grandfather N. T. Rama Rao was not happy with this relationship initially. However, after Junior NTR’s birth, he accepted Shalini into the family and gave his grandson his own name.
In the family, Junior NTR is lovingly called ‘Tarak’. Later, grandfather NTR combined it with his own name and gave him the full name ‘Nandamuri Tarak Rama Rao’. From here, he became famous as ‘Junior NTR’.
Junior NTR’s father Harikrishna remained active in both films and politics. He was considered a major campaigner for TDP and used to draw huge crowds at election rallies. This same popularity was later seen in Junior NTR as well.
Junior NTR in a scene from the film ‘Brahmarshi Vishwamitra’.
Made debut in grandfather’s film at the age of 8
Junior NTR was born on May 20, 1983. He started working in films at a young age. At just 8 years old, he made his debut as a child artist with ‘Brahmarshi Vishwamitra’. This film was directed by his grandfather NTR.
In the film, he played the role of King Bharat. Along with his school studies, he took training in Kuchipudi dance, which gave his dancing style a distinct identity.
Received National Award at the age of 13
Junior NTR’s second big film was ‘Ramayanam’. In this, he played the role of Lord Shri Ram. At that time, he was about 14 years old.
The film received the National Film Award for Best Children’s Feature Film. Getting national recognition at such a young age was considered a major achievement of his career. During that same period, the industry realized that he would become a big star in the future.
Became Lead Hero at 18 Years of Age
In the year 2001, Junior NTR made his debut as a lead actor with ‘Ninnu Choodalani’. However, he got real recognition from ‘Student Number 1’. This was also ‘S.S. Rajamouli’s’ first directorial film.
The film was a superhit and this is where the successful partnership of Rajamouli and Junior NTR began. Later, both worked together in 4 films including ‘Simhadri’, ‘Yamadonga’ and ‘RRR’. All four films were superhits.
Junior NTR with Rajamouli on the set of the film ‘Student Number 1’.
‘Aadi’ and ‘Simhadri’ made him a mass hero
The success of ‘Aadi’ and ‘Simhadri’ made Junior NTR a superstar among the youth. His dialogue delivery, dance and energy were loved by the audience.
Directors say that Junior NTR delivers long Telugu dialogues in a single take without cuts. His memory is considered sharp and that’s why he is regarded as a powerful performer of Tollywood.
10 lakh people attended the audio launch of ‘Andhrawala’
On December 5, 2003, approximately 10 lakh people allegedly attended the audio launch event of the film ‘Andhrawala’. This event was held in Nimmakuru village, which is the birthplace of Junior NTR’s grandfather NTR.
According to reports, the government had to run 10 special trains to manage such a large crowd. At that time, Junior NTR was 20-21 years old. He later mentioned this incident on The Kapil Sharma Show as well. This is still counted among the biggest fan gatherings in Tollywood history.
Junior NTR with co-actress Charmy Kaur in a scene from the film ‘Rakhi’.
Trolled due to obesity, then made a tremendous transformation
At the beginning of his career, Junior NTR was trolled for his weight and looks. Especially during the film ‘Rakhi’, his weight had reached around 100 kg.
After that, he started working on himself and lost around 20 kg for ‘Yamadonga’. The film was a superhit and his new look was also appreciated. This film made under SS Rajamouli’s direction was later dubbed and released in Hindi as ‘Lok Parlok’ and in Tamil as ‘Vijayen’.
After this, he showed different transformations in films like ‘Badshah’, ‘Temper’, ‘Janata Garage’ and ‘Aravinda Sametha Veera Raghava’. In ‘Aravinda Sametha Veera Raghava’, he appeared with 6-pack abs for the first time.
Terrible accident happened during election campaign
In the year 2009, Junior NTR campaigned for the Telugu Desam Party. His rallies drew huge crowds and he was considered the future of the party.
On March 27, 2009, his car met with a serious accident near Nalgonda district. The accident was so severe that he was thrown out of the SUV. He sustained serious injuries and underwent treatment for a long time. After this, he distanced himself from politics.
Junior NTR’s wedding is considered one of the most grand and expensive weddings in the history of Indian cinema.
100 crore wedding became the talk of the town
Junior NTR married Lakshmi Pranathi on May 5, 2011, in a grand ceremony in Hyderabad. According to a Zoom TV report, approximately 100 crore rupees were spent on this wedding. Lakshmi Pranathi is the daughter of businessman Narne Srinivas Rao and Narne Mallika.
Mallika is the niece of former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu. According to reports, Chandrababu Naidu played a crucial role in arranging this alliance.
A mandap worth 18 crores was built, heavy security arrangements were made
According to reports, a massive mandap was prepared at a cost of approximately 18 crore rupees for Junior NTR’s wedding. The mandap was decorated in traditional South Indian temple style and its construction took several days of work.
Big personalities from the film industry, business, and political circles attended the wedding. Special security arrangements were made considering the huge crowd. This ceremony was counted among the most talked-about celebrity weddings of that time.
Lakshmi Pranathi became a bride wearing a saree worth 1 crore
The most talked about thing at the wedding was Lakshmi Pranathi’s red Kanjivaram saree. According to reports, its price was stated to be around 1 crore rupees. It is said that this saree was donated after the wedding.
Junior NTR and Lakshmi Pranathi have two sons, Abhay Ram and Bhargav Ram. The actor’s wife prefers to stay away from the limelight and is seen at very few public events.
The death of brother and father had shattered the family
In 2014, Junior NTR’s elder brother Janaki Ram died in a road accident. After this, in August 2018, his father Nandamuri Harikrishna also passed away in a road accident. During his father’s last rites, Junior NTR could not control himself. He was so distraught that his stepbrother Kalyan performed the last rites for his father.
These incidents had broken Junior NTR from within. After his father’s death, he took a long break from films.
‘RRR’ Made Him a Global Star
After four years, Junior NTR made a powerful comeback in 2022 with RRR. His portrayal of Komaram Bheem in the film was loved worldwide.
The film’s song ‘Naatu Naatu’ made history by winning an Oscar. Following this, Junior NTR’s popularity reached across the entire world. After the success of this film, he worked in ‘Devara: Part 1’ and ‘War 2’.
Fond of Luxury Cars, All Numbers ‘999’
Junior NTR likes the number 9 and considers it his lucky number. This is why most of his luxury cars have the number 999.
His car collection includes expensive vehicles like Porsche 718 Cayman, Range Rover, and Lamborghini Urus.
Distance from Politics, Complete Focus on Films
Despite coming from such a large political family, Junior NTR has not entered active politics so far. In a conversation with Times of India, Junior NTR had said that politics is a very big responsibility and currently his entire focus is on films.
Junior NTR is also ahead in social work
Junior NTR has been associated with social work apart from films. He has been helping education, health and disaster relief campaigns from time to time. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he had provided financial assistance to the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
Apart from this, he keeps helping needy workers and fans of the film industry. The special thing is that Junior NTR does not publicize his social work much.
