Legendary NTR Was the First Pan-India Telugu Star
Legendary actor Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao (NTR) was the first pan-Indian star, working in multilingual films in the 1950s, paving the way for new-age pan-India stars like Prabhas, Allu Arjun, and Ram Charan.
“His folklore drama ‘Pathala Bhairavi’ was made in Telugu, Hindi, and Tamil in 1952 and performed exceptionally well. He followed it up with the socio-fantasy ‘Chandi Rani’ with the late Bhanumathi, while his Telugu film ‘Santhosham’ was remade in Hindi as ‘Naya Aadmi,’ which also succeeded. These Hindi films ran for hundreds of days in theaters and established him as a popular Telugu actor in the Hindi-speaking regions,” Producer Prassanna Kumar explains.
Impressed by his rising fame, renowned Bollywood filmmaker V. Shantaram approached NTR to play the role of Dushyanth in his dream project based on the love story of King Dushyanth and Shakuntala during the 1960s. Known for his good looks and talent, NTR was an obvious choice. “Although NTR had immense respect for the ace filmmaker, he politely declined further Hindi projects, choosing to focus on Telugu cinema. Later, Shantaram played the role himself in ‘Stree’ alongside his wife, Sandhya,” Prassanna Kumar adds.
After becoming renowned for portraying Lord Krishna on the big screen in Tollywood, NTR was approached to reprise the divine role in a Hindi film by late producer Sunderlal Nahata. “He was offered ₹1 crore for the role, but he declined, prioritizing his connection with the Telugu audience, who regarded him as a demi-god. Later, he played the same role in a Telugu film for a mere fee of ₹10,000. This demonstrates the love he had for Telugu cinema, always striving to elevate its standards. For over four decades, NTR’s commitment to Telugu producers, directors, and technicians remained unwavering,” Prassanna Kumar concludes.
Even his son, actor Balakrishna, ventured into Hindi cinema with ‘Brahmarishi Viswamitra’ in 1991. Now, his grandson Jr NTR is set to make his Hindi debut with ‘War 2’ in 2025, where he will take on Hrithik Roshan in an action-adventure, further expanding the Nandamuri family’s cinematic legacy.