Jr NTR pays floral tribute at NTR Ghat in Hyderabad on the occasion of his grandfather Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao's 103rd birth anniversary
Every year on May 28, the NTR Ghat in Hyderabad fills up with people who still feel a personal connection to a man who left the world three decades ago. This year was no different, except the occasion was bigger. Actor Jr NTR visited the NTR Ghat in Hyderabad on Thursday to pay tribute to his grandfather, legendary actor and former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao, on his 103rd birth anniversary.
Jr NTR was joined by his brother Nandamuri Kalyan Ram, who also offered floral tributes at the ghat located near the Telangana Secretariat. They recalled NTR’s invaluable contributions to Telugu cinema and public life. The Telangana Police made special security arrangements at NTR Ghat to manage the crowd and ensure smooth proceedings, as several celebrities and members across party lines visited the site.
#WATCH | Hyderabad, Telangana | On the occasion of the 103rd birth anniversary of Former Andhra Pradesh CM Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao (NTR), his grandson and actor Jr NTR pays his respect at the NTR Ghat. pic.twitter.com/46v3H9eNKi
Who Was NTR?
NTR was born into a farming household on May 28, 1923, in Nimmakuru village in Krishna District. He went on to appear in well over 300 films, becoming one of the most recognisable faces in Indian cinema.
What set him apart from other actors of his era was the mythological genre. He played Lord Krishna in 17 films over the course of his career, with his portrayal in Mayabazar in 1957 widely regarded as one of the most iconic performances in Indian cinema. He also took on Lord Rama in Lava Kusa, Lord Vishnu in Sri Venkateswara Mahatyam, and Lord Shiva in Dakshayagnam, among others. He approached these roles with a sense of spiritual and cultural responsibility, bringing to them a divine bearing, precise diction, and a physical grace that made him synonymous with these figures in the public imagination.
His career was not without its rough patches. He faced a difficult period in the late 1960s and early 1970s, but recovered strongly in the latter half of that decade with hits like Adavi Ramudu, Yamagola, and Vetagadu. In the early 1980s, films like Bobbili Puli and Kondaveeti Simham kept him firmly at the top of Telugu cinema.
However, he did not just stay in cinema. In March 1982, he established the Telugu Desam Party with the stated aim of protecting the interests of Telugu-speaking people. Within a year, the TDP had swept into power and NTR became the first non-Congress Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh. He served three terms in office altogether, using his time in government to push welfare measures for the poor, women, and communities that had been kept at the margins of political life. He died on January 18, 1996, in Hyderabad at the age of 72.
For Jr NTR, this is a ritual he observes every year, but it is not a routine one. His grandfather’s full name is also his own. The actor has spent the better part of two decades building one of the most successful careers in Telugu cinema, most recently earning global recognition through RRR. Yet the Nandamuri name connects him to a generation that came before multiplexes, before pan-India releases, before any of it.
The people who gathered at the ghat on Thursday included fans who grew up watching the original NTR on screen, political workers who remember what it felt like when he came to power, and a younger crowd that knows the name more through legend than memory. That all three groups still show up says something about what 103 years looks like when a life is lived at that scale.
Curated by Aisha Patel
