The biopic of legendary actor Nandamuri Taraka Ramarao (NTR) has been in news since the announcement of the film. The project faced many twists and turns due to surprises. The film started under the Direction of Teja with Nandamuri Balakrishna playing the title role of his father. There were many rumors about the movie but the makers ignored them. There are talks about Vidya Balan playing an important role. Recently, they revealed that Rana Daggubati is playing the role of Nara Chandrababu Naidu which is another key role in the movie. The performance of Rana in his latest flick ‘Nene Raju Nene Mantri’ impressed the team. Balakrishna himself asked Rana to play the role and he instantly agreed.
Krish Jagarlamudi as the Director
Teja recently walked out of the project because of differences between him and Balakrishna. The makers didn’t give any official confirmation about the News until today. There have been rumors about Balakrishna himself directing the project and handing it over to veteran director K. Raghavendra Rao. At some point, there are talks about Teja changing his mind and directing the project himself. Finally, on the eve of NTR’s birth anniversary, makers have announced the Director. Krish Jagarlamudi, who is currently working on Kangana Ranaut’s Manikarnika, will direct the film.
Production of the Film
Krish Jagarlamudi has earlier worked with Balakrishna in his 100th movie ‘Gautamiputra Satakarni’, which is based on the life of Satavahana king ‘Satakarni’. There are good relations between Krish and Balakrishna. So, after discussions with the team, the project is finally handed over to Krish Jagarlamudi. The current project of Krish, Manikarnika, is also a biopic based on the life of the queen of Jhansi, Lakshmibai. Gautamiputra Satakarni helped him to get this prestigious project. Another asset of the film is that the story is provided by the writer of Bahubali, K. V. Vijayendra Prasad. As NTR’s biopic will be a multi-lingual project, the makers believe that Krish will help market the film in Bollywood. They are producing the film with a huge budget.
Other Biopics
Incidentally, Ram Gopal Varma has also announced the biopic of NTR, titled Lakshmi’s NTR, based on the circumstances that lead to his second marriage. The status of the project is unknown as Varma has shelved many projects at several stages earlier. The trend of biopics is gearing up in Tollywood with the recent success of Mahanati, which is the biopic of actress Savitri. The biopic of the late Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy is also being made. The other notable biopics include Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy, which is the biopic of freedom fighter Uyyalawada Narasimha Reddy, and the biopic of wrestler Kodi Rammurthy Naidu. Akkineni Nagarjuna has been planning the biopic of his father and legendary actor, Akkineni Nageswara Rao. There are rumors about the biopics of Uday Kiran and Soundarya too but there is no official announcement. Nevertheless, biopics are the latest fad among the filmmakers of the Telugu film industry.
