Hyderabad: Kaithalapur grounds in KPHB reverberated to echoes of ‘NTR’ as luminaries from Tollywood, past and present, and celebrities from various walks of life descended at the colourfully-illuminated venue for a glittering celebration of the charismatic actor-politician, N.T. Rama Rao, ahead of his birth centenary on May 28.
After his actor-son Nandamuri Balakrishna welcomed the gathering, his sister and former Union minister Daggubati Purandareswari recalled that it was the great man who ensured equal rights in family property to daughters. Haryana Governor Bandaru Dattatreya released a book Shatapurushudu that traces the life and times of the demi-god.
Adding glamour quotient to the fullest were NTR’s leading ladies Jaya Sudha and Jaya Prada with both regaling the audience with their anecdotes. Jaya Prada said that it was NTR’s founding of Telugu Desam Party that had drawn her to politics.
Ramesh Prasad, Venkatesh, Ram Cheran Tej, Murli Mohan, Naga Chaitanya, Suman and Kannada actor Shiva Rajkumar joined in the celebrations. The former chief minister’s favourite grandson Jr. NTR, Pawan Kalyan and Prabhas were conspicuous by their absence. ,
Meanwhile, Kasani Gyaneshwar, president of Telangana TDP, brought out the similarities in NTR and his son-in-law N Chandrababu Naidu.
Naidu said, “Our founder’s birth centenary is being celebrated in the United States. This shows the eternal power of NTR. He should be honoured with the Bharat Ratna.”
Nandamuri Tarakrama Rao’s children and grandchildren were all present at the event. Many dignitaries were feted on the occasion.
Earlier, Naidu and CPM Secretary Sitharam Yechuri garlanded the statue of the leader while Naidu also launched a commemorative website.
