NTR: A Political Biography

By Ramachandra Murthy Kondubhatla

In the year of N.T. Rama Rao's birth centenary in 2023, this is a comprehensive political biography that traces his journey from a remote Andhra village to the forefront of the national stage via a thriving career in Telugu films.

NTR, as he was popularly known, had an extraordinary ability to galvanize the masses, as much to watch his films as to support the party he founded - the Telugu Desam. His life and career can be divided in two distinct halves: his stellar performance as divine characters in mythological films and his tryst with politics. NTR's transformation from a matinee idol of Telugu cinema to the political darling of the masses was swift and seamless.

This book uncovers the many facets of NTR's life, and his impact on not just on Andhra but on national politics.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins India
• Release date: May 20, 2023
• ISBN: 9789356991286

Ramachandra Murthy Kondubhatla

Ramachandra Murthy Kondubhatla is a veteran journalist who has been public policy advisor to the Government of Andhra Pradesh. He was editorial director of Sakshi Media Group, and MD and CEO of Hyderabad Media House Ltd which runs HMTV, a Telugu news TV channel and The Hans India, an English paper.

Book preview

PREFACE

Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao (NTR) had always fascinated me. He was not just a popular film star but a film star who launched a political party to rout the Congress, which until then had no rival in Andhra Pradesh. As an actor, he was different from others. Mythological movies were his forte. He played the role of Rama, Krishna, Siva, Lord Venkateswara (Balaji) and many other Indian mythological characters. The audiences were so mesmerized that they imagined the gods with the actor’s features.

There was no politician like NTR. He was different in many aspects—the way he thought, expressed his views, made unpredictable decisions and lived a life full of contradictions. He loved people and was absolutely sincere in his welfare measures. Many politicians, like persons in other occupations, keep their extramarital relationships under wraps. But only NTR could make it public and insist on marrying the woman he loved, though she was far younger. In the process, he did not mind losing power. Only NTR could sack all the cabinet ministers when he learnt that information of budget proposals had been leaked to newspapers.

He was handsome, expressive and ebullient. He was a narcissist who loved himself. In my career as a journalist, I met a number of politicians but none comparable to NTR. And I feel sure that there will be none in the future.

I met NTR a number of times when he was in office and in the Opposition. He was affable, responsive or elusive, depending on the subject and question, but never offensive. I was the editor of Telugu daily Udayam when it was closed down in the second half of May, exactly three months before the saga of NTR’s removal from power started in August 1995. I had no newspaper to write for, but I was keenly watching the drama as it unfolded. When reputed publishers HarperCollins asked me to write NTR’s biography, I jumped at the idea and signed the contract. However, soon after that, I joined Sakshi Media Group as the editorial director, which left me with little time to do research and write.

After retiring from this job, I met several persons who knew NTR and I read his biographies. I thought the last phase of NTR’s life was not adequately depicted and some salient features of the actor-turned-politician had not been highlighted so far. I believe this book addresses those issues and more. As the most accomplished person among the Telugus representing their ethos, NTR has restored their distinct identity and pride.

K. Ramachandra Murthy

Hyderabad

1

A HISTORIC JOURNEY

The Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium (LB Stadium) in Hyderabad has been witness to many a historic event. The imposing cricket stadium was built in 1970 on an open maidan where the army camped and cricket was played. Originally it began as the Bagh-e-Dilkusha, a beautiful garden sanctioned by the founder of Hyderabad, Quli Qutub Shah. It was flattened into a camping ground by the Mughal army during their Golconda campaign led by Emperor Aurangzeb. After the Mughals captured the Golconda Fort in 1687, this site was renamed Fateh Maidan—victory ground.

Much water has flowed under the Purana Pul in the Old City since then. The Bagh remained a green and beautiful landmark for Hyderabad, its people and its history. After the police action in September 1948 to annex Hyderabad State, General J.N. Chowdhury, head of the military government, addressed his first public meeting here. The only time test matches were played at this ground was in 1955-56.

During the India–Pakistan war of 1965, Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri visited Hyderabad during his India tour to mobilize public opinion and funds for the National Defence Fund. At the same meeting, the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) donated 1.25 lakh grams (125 kg) of gold.

NTR, as he was popularly known, was already a movie megastar. In October 1965, he toured the state with his team and collected more than Rs 8 lakh for the ‘NTR National Defence Fund’ and presented the amount, along with his own contribution of Rs 1 lakh, to the chief minister, Kasu Brahmananda Reddy, to hand over to Prime Minister Shastri. The venue was the Fateh Maidan.

The ground was renamed Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium in 1967 in memory of Shastri who died at Tashkent on 11 January 1966.

Jalagam Vengal Rao, who became the chief minister in 1973 had thought of organizing a World Telugu Conference with the intention of forging unity among the Telugu-speaking people by projecting to the world the language and literary accomplishments of the people. The conference was held at the LB Stadium in 1975.

The stadium had a special appeal for NTR because it was here that he had handed over the donations to the National Defence Fund and it was the venue of the World Telugu Conference. This influenced NTR’s decision to take the oath of office as chief minister at this stadium. Three of the four times that he took oath were at this venue. NTR took his oath as chief minister here for the last time in 1994.

It was 7 January 1983. The stage was set for NTR to take oath as the first non-Congress chief minister of Andhra Pradesh. The Telugu Desam Legislature Party (TDLP) met at the Jubilee Hall in the Public Gardens in Hyderabad to elect NTR as its leader. NTR was unanimously elected.

NTR sat there in the meeting with his eyes closed. His party had won a landslide victory against the Congress, but things could still go wrong. There were not many experienced leaders in the party. Most of them were new to politics.

About the meeting, Nadendla Bhaskar Rao said, ‘The party did not have a secretary or a general secretary or even an executive committee. N.T. Rama Rao was everything. Even so, we had worked together. We urgently needed a secretary to present the legislature party resolution to the governor and request him to invite Rama Rao to form the new government. I penned the letter, signing it as secretary, and presented it to Governor K.C. Abraham.’¹

Senior leader Nallapareddy Srinivasulu Reddy also made the first public announcement of the party’s intention to abolish the Legislative Council.² The Congress had two-thirds majority in the Council, where the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) had no representation. The Congress could stall legislation. Later, a resolution was duly passed in the Assembly and sent to the Centre but Indira Gandhi sat on the resolution. The Council was finally abolished after Rajiv Gandhi took over as Prime Minister, through Andhra Pradesh Legislative Council (Abolition) Act, 1985.

Before finalizing the list of ministers to take oath along with him, NTR met Ramoji Rao, owner of the newspaper Eenadu, who had been a source of strength to him. Ramoji Rao is said to have made two recommendations, but neither could be accommodated. He was understood to have asked NTR to make Nadendla Bhaskar Rao the speaker of the Assembly instead of minister, commenting that he was corrupt. Bhaskar Rao, as a minister in the Congress (I) government, had had inquiries launched into alleged irregularities in a company owned by Ramoji Rao. This put the two men against each other. Bhaskar Rao, on his part, felt NTR was close to Ramoji Rao, so he pleaded with NTR to leave him out of the cabinet.³ He offered to advise the government from outside.

NTR could not leave Bhaskar Rao out of the first cabinet since Rao was instrumental in launching the party and was second-in-command at the time. Although NTR had reservations about Bhaskar Rao, he was important, and was given the finance portfolio. Problems arose a little later when Bhaskar Rao tried to run the party his way while NTR had his own style—and was clear about who was in charge.

Another suggestion made by the media mogul was to bring Parvathaneni Upendra (or P. Upendra), who had become NTR’s right-hand man, into the cabinet. Bhaskar Rao opposed the name of Upendra as he suspected him to be Ramoji Rao’s man. Moreover, Upendra had not contested the elections. NTR reluctantly dropped Upendra’s name. Finally, he prepared a list of fourteen ministers.

NTR took oath of office in the presence of a huge gathering at the LB Stadium on 9 January 1983, at 11 a.m. It was the first time that a swearing-in had taken place outside the Raj Bhavan in Hyderabad. Since his politics was people-centric and he was riding a wave of popularity, NTR wanted to take the reins of administration before the people. He had won on the plank of serving the common people, the poor and the hungry. It was now his responsibility to ensure that the TDP government was clean, and the ministers and bureaucrats were responsible and incorruptible persons. He was expected to present a model of governance to the nation.

Party workers, fans and admirers from all over the state had descended at LB Stadium. Drummers, singers and dancers entertained the jubilant crowds. The crowd was believed to be around 2.5 lakh. NTR was the first non-Congress chief minister in Andhra Pradesh. With this, the Congress lost its last southern state. Nara Chandrababu Naidu was a guest in the front row and film director Dasari Narayana Rao garlanded NTR first after he was sworn in. Since there were not many ministers, each got more than two portfolios, with Kunduru Jana Reddy of Nalgonda holding half a dozen.

NTR was following the example of Neelam Sanjiva Reddy, the first chief minister of undivided Andhra Pradesh, twenty-seven years back, who headed a cabinet of fifteen members. It was refreshing change from jumbo cabinets of forty to sixty ministers.

Governor K.C. Abraham, a Janata government appointee and the first non-Congress man in Hyderabad’s Raj Bhavan, administered the oath. NTR took the oath in chaste Telugu. Nadendla Bhaskar Rao was the number two in the cabinet. Nallapareddy Srinivasulu Reddy was the third. All other ministers were first-timers.

Thus, NTR in his inimitable style, heralded a new era in Andhra politics. He became the harbinger of the unity in national opposition and founder of the National Front, which would replace the Congress government at the Centre in 1989.

2

A RUSTIC TURNS HERO

‘Your son has shanku and chakra on his feet. He will be as great as a god himself!’¹ On hearing the astrologer’s prophecy, the father, Lakshmaiah, jumped with joy. The little kid, Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao, began to be treated as an incarnation of God. This apocryphal story of NTR’s early years defines the projected image of the man: one destined for greatness and power.

NTR was born in an agricultural family on 28 May 1923 at 4.30 p.m. at Nimmakuru village to Nandamuri Lakshmaiah Chowdari and Venkataramamma. The village is 48 km east of Vijayawada and 5 km from Pamarru. At the time of NTR’s birth, the population of Nimmakuru was less than 500. Even now it is not a very big village. There are about 400 houses.

Nimmakuru is situated in a region known for intellectuals and celebrities. Besides NTR, the cluster of villages in the Gudivada area are justly proud of the well-known actor and a Dadasaheb Phalke awardee Akkineni Nageswara Rao (ANR), doyen of Telugu journalism Narla Venkateswara Rao, media mogul Cherukuri Ramoji Rao, Justice Jasti Chalameswar of the Supreme Court and many other highly accomplished persons. Incidentally, most of them belong to the Kamma community. The area has been the heart of the community.

Historically, Nimmakuru lay on an important trade route between Golconda and Machilipatnam Port. Before a cyclone in 1864 destroyed the port, trade flourished in the area. Bullock-carts and horse-carts carrying precious stones and spices travelled on the road. There were instances of the village women being molested by the soldiers accompanying the traders’ caravans. On the insistence of the women, the village was shifted away from the road.²

NTR’s grandfather, Nandamuri Peda Ramaswami Chowdari, owned 80 acres of cultivable land. He was known to be a strong-willed and principled farmer who valued self-respect. His wife, Mahalakshmi, was very beautiful and taller than her husband. They had four sons: Rajaiah, Lakshmaiah, Subbaiah and Nagaiah, and a daughter Ranganayakamma. The second son, Lakshmaiah, was devoted to farming and had little interest in anything else. Nagaiah was short like his father and a bit complicated in attitude. The other two enjoyed living a comfortable life.

They were distant relations of Nandamuri Akkaiah, who died leaving behind his wife and three sons, the eldest of whom was Ramaiah. This young man liked staging plays and was good at rendering drama poems. He was called ‘Soku’ Ramaiah because he was always well-groomed. His mother worried about her son’s future. Ramaiah was content with whatever he had. After his father’s death, he declared that he would not take any share in the property but let his brothers share it among themselves.

One day, Soku Ramaiah had organized a stage play, Draupadi Maana Samrakshana (Protecting Draupadi’s Honour). Though the play was a flop, his acting impressed a man—Katragadda Suraiah, from a neighbouring village. Suraiah had two daughters—Chandramma and Venkataramamma. He offered to give Chandramma in marriage to Ramaiah. Ramaiah’s mother was happy her son had made an impression. The wedding of Ramaiah and Chandramma took place shortly. But Ramaiah carried on as before, not bothering about making money. His mother died, leaving her daughter-in-law to worry about her son.

Lakshmaiah toiled hard in the fields, but the other brothers did not show much interest in farming. On Lakshmaiah’s insistence, Ramaswami Chowdari divided his property among the sons. The brothers left the joint family to live separately. When Lakshmaiah was searching for accommodation, his cousin Ramaiah invited him to stay in his house.

Chandramma’s father Suraiah fell on hard times. He came down to Nimmakuru to stay with his daughter and son-in-law. When his other daughter Venkataramamma came of age, which in those days meant entering puberty, she was married off to Lakshmaiah.

NTR was born on a Monday under propitious stars and with an auspicious black mole on his back. His mother, Venkataramamma, was barely fourteen years old. Therefore, Chandramma and Ramaiah, who had no children, offered to adopt the child, besides giving a home to the young couple. NTR’s parents wanted to name him Krishnaiah but on Ramaiah’s suggestion, he was named Taraka Rama Rao. So, NTR was called Tarakam in the early years of his life. (Later, Chandramma lived with NTR’s son Balakrishna till she was in her nineties.)

While Ramaiah was flamboyant, Lakshmaiah was a bit mild and subdued. Lakshmaiah followed Ramaiah’s advice in all aspects. While Ramaiah had a literary and artistic bent of mind, Lakshmaiah was a farmer to the core. Ramaiah raised Tarakam. He always had the little fellow on his shoulders and used to narrate mythological stories to the child. Bala Ramayanam was Ramaiah’s favourite subject.

The infant Tarakam was taken to fortune tellers and astrologers, as was (and is still) common in India. One was a tribal, Koya Dora, who is said to have declared, ‘This little fellow has a bright future. Some day he will rule this land.’³

Venkanna Pantulu was an established astrologer in the village. One day, Lakshmaiah Chowdari went to Pantulu with Tarakam. Pantulu got a plate filled with rice flour and asked Lakshmaiah to lift his son gently and make him stand steadily on the plate. He then asked Lakshmaiah to slowly lift the child from the plate. On seeing the impressions of the child’s feet on the flour, Venkanna Pantulu is said to have exclaimed, ‘This boy will be a superman!’ He was the one said to have conferred a godlike status on NTR. Additionally, he predicted that Tarakam would have immense love for his wife. He had ‘Gajakesari yoga—he would have the strength of a gaja (elephant) and the heart of a kesari (lion).⁴

Lakshmaiah did not allow his son to walk barefoot. When he was learning to walk, saris and dhotis were laid out in his path like a red carpet. Most of the time the child would be on the shoulders of either Lakshmaiah or Ramaiah. Venkanna Pantulu’s prophecy had changed the perception of the family members and the villagers. They strongly believed that far from being an ordinary mortal, he was an incarnation of God. Ramaiah was very fond of the first child in their family.

Ramaiah used to take Tarakam to Vijayawada and Gudivada to watch stage plays. Delivering long and difficult dialogues from dramas and reciting reams of poetry was a hobby Ramaiah enjoyed most. Lakshmaiah, on the other hand, would start his work at dawn. Accompanied by labourers, he would set out for the farm with a plough on his shoulder. He would spend the whole day in the fields and go back home in the evening.

In Nimmakuru, there was only a primary school. Valluri Venkata Subba Rao was the teacher who taught NTR and other children in the village the basics of Telugu and mathematics. In those days, the primary school teachers used to teach many things, using sources ranging from Pedda Balasiksha (a sort of encyclopaedia) to the Mahabharata. Tarakam imbibed the rudiments of literature and culture in his childhood. NTR believed that whatever he knew about the world was because of Pedda Balasiksha.

Some decades later, when the celebrations of 100 days of the screening of the film Aggi Ramudu were being held in Vijayawada, the film’s hero, NTR, was addressing the gathering. Spotting an old person on a back bench, he abruptly left the dais and walked briskly to the old man and brought him to the front row, seated him and touched his feet. NTR told the audience that it was his teacher, Subba Rao, who was responsible for his keen interest in the Telugu language.⁵

Ramaiah heard that there was an English primary school at the residence of the munasab (village-level revenue officer) of Avurupudi, a neighbouring village. Tarakam finished his fourth and fifth classes at Avurupudi.

Though both Ramaiah and Lakshmaiah loved Tarakam immensely, Ramaiah was more demonstrative. Ramaiah was keen that Tarakam should pursue higher studies. Tarakam was admitted to the municipal high school near Kaleswara Rao market, Vijayawada in 1933. It was a new experience for him. In his village, he knew everyone and was treated as a pampered child. He played with his friends on the banks of the canal, climbing the trees, picking and eating fruits. No one questioned him. People used to invite him into their homes and ask him to sing songs or recite poems. The whole village was his playground.

Life in Vijayawada was different though. He was looked after by Ramaiah and Chandramma, his foster parents, who moved to the town with him. The special treatment for Tarakam continued even in Vijayawada. Ramaiah used to carry him to school on his shoulders and teach him at home. By the time he reached the seventh standard, Tarakam had memorized Dasarathi Satakam, Bhaskara Satakam, Andhra Naama Sangraham and other texts meant for children, and recited them fluently and melodiously.

However, it was becoming increasingly difficult to run the show at Vijayawada as agriculture became a losing proposition with crops failing continuously and prices of paddy falling. It was a general phenomenon in the region. Lakshmaiah was struggling to send money to Vijayawada. Ramaiah worked as a bus conductor and one day he slipped from the footboard and fell down, injuring his leg. By that time, Lakshmaiah was neck-deep in debt and had to sell ten acres of land to clear his debts. Ramaiah realized that he had to work in the village so that he might be of help to his brother in educating NTR. He and his wife returned to Nimmakuru when NTR was in fifth class.

Lakshmaiah and Venkataramamma then moved to Vijayawada and started a small dairy business. Young Tarakam helped his father. He used to wake up at 2.30 a.m. and ride a Hercules bicycle to supply milk to hotels. His father was his inspiration to learn the value work hard in order to come up in life. From that time, waking up early in the morning became an abiding habit for Tarakam. ‘My father … toiled hard for my education,’ recalled NTR.⁶ The milk business made some profit, which was invested in buying a small house, half of which was rented out.

Tarakam never accepted the the hotel-owners’ offers of a cup of coffee. After delivering milk, he would stand before the cash counter with folded hands and a cheerful smile till the money was paid. Next, he would go to the house of his school teacher Kalluri Venkata Subrahmanya Dikshitulu, a scholar in Telugu and Sanskrit for extra tutoring. It helped Tarakam gain greater command of the Telugu language and diction. When Dikshitulu went to Madras (now Chennai) after many years, NTR, then an established actor, and his wife Basavatarakam presented him with new clothes and touched his feet.

Lakshmaiah also sent Tarakam to the Talimkhana, a place where yoga, wrestling and physical exercises were taught. It was run by a veteran called Veeraiah. NTR enjoyed wrestling and yoga. Besides teaching physical education, Veeraiah talked to his pupils about the freedom struggle, Mahatma Gandhi and Subhas Chandra Bose. Tarakam loved both Gandhi and Bose.

Tarakam finished his school education in 1940 and joined Sri Rajah Rangayya Appa Rao (SRR) College—now Sri Rajah Rangayya Appa Rao and Chunduri Venkata Reddy (SRR & CVR) College—for his intermediate studies. It was here that NTR started acting on the stage. Viswanatha Satyanarayana, a renowned scholar in Telugu and Sanskrit, and a great poet who went on to win the prestigious Jnanpith Award, was Tarakam’s Telugu teacher. Under Viswanatha’s watch, NTR mastered the art of reciting poems and reading literature.

When NTR was at the end of intermediate first year, Viswanatha cast NTR in the role of the heroine in the play Rachamalluni Dautyam (The Diplomacy of Rachamallu) penned by him. In those days, female students were few and they seldom participated in stage plays. The young student had to obey the great teacher. ‘I was not prepared to play a woman’s role,’ reminisced NTR, ‘but the old man was adamant. I did not have the heart to say no to a great man like him.’⁷

NTR was a good-looking young man then, sporting a fine moustache. When he was backstage, adjusting his blouse and sari after make-up, Viswanatha approached him with a razor in hand. ‘Remove the moustache,’ he ordered. His student protested, ‘Sir, I am a proud Telugu man. How can I remove my moustache, the symbol of my manhood?’⁸

After a heated argument, the famous teacher gave in. Though Tarakam was nervous at the beginning, he acted well on the stage and earned the nickname, ‘Meesaala Nagamma (Nagamma with moustache)’.⁹ NTR’s interest in the stage kept growing. He played the role of Salim, the hero in the play Anarkali written by Muddukrishna. He was elected as vice president of the students’ union when he was in his second year of intermediate.

In the 1960s, when NTR was the chief guest at an SRR & CVR College anniversary function, both he and Viswanatha Satyanarayana were on the dais. NTR humbly said, ‘I am in this position today because of the blessings of my teacher.’

Known for his ready wit and repartee, Viswanatha replied, ‘Rama Rao said he is in this position today because of me. I do not know what position he has attained. Nor do I know to what extent I am responsible for that.’

The audience was shocked at the way the scholar spoke about their hero. NTR also was taken aback. The police tensed, fearing that NTR’s fans would attack the scholar.

After a pause, Viswanatha cleared his throat and continued, ‘I did not teach acting to Rama Rao. Nor did I do anything to add to his handsomeness. Maybe he learnt a little bit of Telugu because of me. That is all I lay claim to. So, I cannot be the reason for his eminence. He has become this big all by himself. Rama Rao is not really very great yet. He still has time to become great.’ In the midst of thunderous applause, he concluded, ‘Certainly, he will scale the heights he deserves.’ NTR folded his hands sporting a broad smile and paid obeisance to his old teacher.¹⁰ The police heaved a sigh of relief.

Besides theatre, wrestling and yoga, NTR enjoyed painting and drawing, and even won first prize at the Andhra State Student Science Congress at Vijayawada. When C.R. Narasimham, head of the economics department, was taking a class, all the students were listening to him in rapt attention. But NTR, with his chin resting on a hand, was looking down as though he was taking notes. Out of curiosity, Narasimham walked to the table to find NTR drawing his (lecturer’s) caricature. The lecturer was amused but reprimanded the student for not paying attention to his class.

There was hectic activity at Talimkhana one morning. Veeraiah told Tarakam that his hero Subhas Chandra Bose was coming and the students were going to the railway station to meet him. Veeraiah had always praised Netaji as a hero who believed in direct action.

Tarakam sat through the day drawing a painting of Bose breaking the shackles of Mother India. Tarakam and his friends went to the Vijayawada railway station at 2 a.m. The train chugged in at 4.40 a.m. Bose got down and greeted them. Tarakam presented his painting to him. Bose praised and accepted it. It was one of NTR’s fondest memories from those days.¹¹

In May 1942, when he entered his twentieth year, Tarakam married Basavatarakam, his maternal uncle Katragadda Chenchaiah’s daughter. Chenchaiah was the munasab of Komaravolu village and was well-to-do. But Nagaiah had wanted NTR to marry his own sister-in-law. When Ramaiah and NTR chose Basavatarakam, Nagaiah was furious and took revenge by refusing to sign over the land for which Lakshmaiah had already paid him.

Tarakam’s wedding day was not a happy event. The Nandamuri relatives kept away from the wedding.¹² Lakshmaiah and Venkataramamma stayed away too, for fear of further alienating Nagaiah. Ramaiah attended but was unwell. Tarakam himself had to make all the arrangements required from the groom’s side.

The Nandamuri family was known to be extremely emotional, prejudiced and stubborn. The animosities in the family were so fierce after this wedding that even when Ramaswami Chowdari died of old age, his son Lakshmaiah was not informed. Somebody in the village telephoned him about his father’s demise. Lakshmaiah, Venkataramamma, her father Chenchaiah and Tarakam went to Nimmakuru, where the Nandamuri family ignored them. While three brothers held the bier at three corners, some other relative held the fourth corner; they did not ask Lakshmaiah to be the fourth pall-bearer.

This episode clearly shows how stubborn and uncompromising the members of the Nandamuri family were. NTR and his children had the same blood in them. This was proved when NTR’s children stood united in opposing his marriage with Lakshmi Parvathi, while he was equally determined to marry her.¹³

Basavatarakam came to Vijayawada to live with NTR one year after their wedding. Tarakam failed his Intermediate exams twice: marriage, theatre activities and a long visit to Bombay (now Mumbai) to help a former tenant in a court case, all disrupted his studies. ‘My friends used to tease me, saying "vivaaham vidya naasaaya (marriage mars education)",’ he once said.

Tarakam tried to settle down in life. He tried many things. For some time, he worked as a sirestedar (court clerk) at the sub-court in Vijayawada at Rs 60 per month. A friend suggested that a cigarette shop would make more money. He and a partner, Babburi Venkaiah, rented a shop on a busy road. Business was good. Some friends suggested to him to add a wholesale tobacco business to the existing shop.

When Tarakam went to the government office for a licence, he came across a Sikh sadhu (ascetic). He predicted NTR would leave his business, go on to finish his Intermediate and get a graduate degree—and would go to Madras and become an actor.¹⁴

True to the Sardarji’s words, Babburi Venkaiah fell ill and withdrew from the partnership. The shop was closed down, bringing NTR back to square one. After doing some odd jobs, he took his father’s permission and again went to Bombay to learn sound recording. But he found the training tough and discontinued it but stayed in Bombay and opened an eatery—Andhra Mess—in Matunga. He entertained the customers by talking about the eating habits of Telugus and their martial skills. He was a proud Telugu man. In his free time he watched Hindi movies.¹⁵ NTR returned to Vijayawada at the behest of his father to help him. In the process NTR lost three years. Relatives and friends taunted him for not taking studies seriously. He was reminded of Sardarji’s prophecy. He then concentrated on his studies, determined to pass Intermediate this time.

Tarakam cleared Intermediate in his third attempt in 1945. He wanted to go back to Nimmakuru and take up farming. Ramaiah and Venkataramamma came to Vijayawada and discussed Tarakam’s future plans with him. They persuaded him to drop the idea of becoming a farmer and to study further. Had Ramaiah not intervened, Tarakam would have ended up as a farmer.

Ramaiah advised Tarakam to go to Andhra Christian (AC) College. in Guntur.¹⁶ In June 1945, NTR started a BA in economics and modern European history.

Tarakam would have an early breakfast, before leaving at 7.20 a.m. to walk three miles to the railway station. The train reached Guntur at 9.20 a.m. His classes ended at 4.20 p.m., but the return train was at 10 p.m. By the time he reached home it would be 11.30 p.m. His wife Basavatarakam would be asleep by then but his mother stayed awake, waiting with a hot meal ready for him.

The college term fees was Rs 32, and Tarakam was finding it difficult to pay the amount. He approached Principal H.H. Saiffs, who had come from England. Tarakam requested a concession in fees. He explained that earlier his family had land but now it had fallen on bad times and was not in a position to pay the fees. The principal was impressed by his sincerity and gave a concession on the condition that his academic performance should be exemplary.

AC College encouraged students to pursue extracurricular activities including theatre. Tarakam, or Ramu to his college friends, and his college-mates M.V. Sarma, Kongara Jaggaiah and others were active in staging plays.

Saiffs was largely responsible for the active college drama society. Tarakam and Jaggaiah were joint winners of the best actor award in 1946.¹⁷ Winning prizes and awards had become a sort of habit for both Tarakam and Jaggaiah. Tarakam still commuted daily from Vijaywada and helped his father in the dairy business. He was a front-bencher who took his studies seriously.

Some time after Tarakam’s wedding, Nagaiah seemed to have a change of heart and invited Tarakam’s younger brother Trivikrama Rao, who was poor at studies, to his home, promising to give him land and get him married to his sister-in-law. The benevolence did not last long. Trivikrama was ill-treated and returned home.

Nagaiah followed the boy to Vijayawada and berated him and all the members in Lakshmaiah’s family. He said Trivikrama was a useless fellow who had no education and nobody would give his daughter in marriage to him. Tarakam, enraged, declared that he would get a good match for Trivikrama within six months.

It became Tarakam’s responsibility to search for a match. Soon, Padmanabham of a neighbouring village offered his daughter’s hand for Trivikrama. Tarakam and his friends went to Gudivada to settle the match. The girl’s father said he had some doubts about Trivikrama’s ability to support a wife as he only had a half-share in three acres, besides being uneducated and unemployed. Until these concerns were addressed, he would not risk ruining his daughter’s life. Tarakam said he would give his share to his younger brother and sent someone by bicycle to get stamp papers. He wrote the land transfer deed and signed it. Only then did Padmanabham go ahead with the formalities. This act of sacrifice by Tarakam became a favourite topic of discussion among the people of the surrounding villages.

Having seen his father and uncles quarrelling over property, Tarakam had vowed he would never part ways with his younger brother. When he started earning millions later on, he took care of his younger brother and gave him an equal share in his wealth.¹⁸

During the two years at college, Jaggaiah was his friendly stage rival. Tarakam formed an amateur drama group called National Art Theatre. Under its banner, the group organized stage plays whenever money was needed for a good cause.¹⁹

When Tarakam was still at AC College, Telugu film industry directors spotted him. The first director to offer him a role was C. Pullaiah. He had heard about Tarakam’s good looks and beautiful voice through Nagumani, husband of Sriranjani, the singing star. Their son Mallikharjuna Rao, who later became a director himself, was a student of Hindu College, Guntur. Mallikharjuna Rao spoke highly about Tarakam to his father. Nagumani watched Tarakam in a play and was very impressed. He recalled the famous director-producer Pullaiah’s request to spot a young man for the role of a prince in his forthcoming film. On the recommendation of Nagumani, Pullaiah offered Tarakam the role of the hero in his film Keelu Gurram (The Magic Horse). Since Tarakam was keen on getting his degree, he did not accept the offer, to Pullaiah’s annoyance. ²⁰

Thus, Tarakam missed his first train to Madras. It was ANR who acted as the hero in Keelu Gurram, which became a super hit. ANR was ahead of NTR by at least four years in their film careers.

Tarakam finished his examinations on 11 April 1947. He passed and became a graduate with degree in economics. He valued his degree so much that he always wrote BA at the end of his name. Another reason could be that his rival in the film industry, ANR, had not even passed intermediate exam.

Director L.V. Prasad was in Vijayawada looking for someone for the male lead in Srimati, a film he was planning for Sarathi Studio. Tarakam’s friend D.V.S. Manyam, who was a still photographer, took him to Prasad. Prasad took a look at Tarakam and nodded approvingly.

‘He asked for my photograph. I said I did not have any. He then asked me to go to Madras for a screen test the following month. I said I can come but he must bear my travelling, board and lodging expenses. After getting back to Madras, Prasad sent me the money. I then went to Madras on 21 May 1947,’ narrated NTR.²¹ Talking of NTR, the still photographer Mana Satyam of Jaihind Studio said: ‘I did a make-up test for NTR. He was so handsome that I did not feel like taking the twenty rupees due from him for the still photos.’²² After the screen test, Tarakam returned to Vijayawada.

Tarakam was not sure about his chances of getting an opportunity in the Madras film industry. Very keen on doing something to earn and help the family, he started trying for other jobs. Now that he was a graduate, he hoped to land some job or other. He tried for the post of a police sub-inspector but failed in the interview because he was not proficient in spoken English. He applied for the post of air officer in the King’s Commission and nearly joined but gave it up because his parents and wife were against him going to Dehradun for training. He then sat for the Madras Public Service exam for the post of sub-registrar.

Soon after the examination came some bad news from Madras. L.V. Prasad wrote to say that the film for which NTR screen-tested was being put off for the time being. However, the director informed him that he was making another film, Mana Desam (Our Country) for the Mirzapuram Raja and there was a small but important role in it for NTR. He was told that if he was interested in a minor role, he could go to Madras. Tarakam was disappointed. He thought his cinema dreams were over. But he accepted the offer.

Meanwhile, Tarakam’s brother Trivikrama Rao and cousin Pundareekakshaiah were managing the activities of National Art Theatre. Others joined and enjoyed staging plays but had no income.

Lifting the pall of gloom, the results of the Madras Public Service Commission examination had been announced. The good news was that Tarakam was one of the seven candidates selected out of the 937 who sat for the examination. He was now a sub-registrar. It was a modest job with a salary of Rs 190 per month, enough to feed a middle-class family. Tarakam started work at Guntur in October 1947. He went to the office thinking that he would work there for some years, but he was there for only eleven days.

On the first day, Tarakam arrived, hung his coat on the back of his chair and got to work. When he put on the coat at the end of the day, Tarakam discovered a hundred rupees in his coat pocket. He was told every employee got a cut this way from the bribes the senior peon had received that day from the people who came to get their work done. Tarakam was furious and shouted he would not tolerate this nonsense. His colleagues were dumbfounded.²³

Tarakam was disgusted that a bunch of educated employees routinely accepted bribes without any qualms. The first day’s experience upset him but he continued attending the office, though without the initial enthusiasm. While he felt happy that he had fulfilled the dream of his adoptive father Ramaiah by becoming a graduate and a government officer, his morale had touched its nadir.

NTR had been lucky throughout his life. Lady luck ditched him only at the fag-end of his life. While he was working in his government job, keeping a respectable distance from his colleagues, he received two letters from Madras. Both were in the same envelope. One was from B.A. Subba Rao and the other from L.V. Prasad. Subba Rao was directing a new film titled Palleturi Pilla and offered Tarakam the role of the hero; Prasad’s letter advised him to grab the rare opportunity.²⁴

Tarakam was in two minds. He was about to settle down in a government job. Should he take the risk and go to Madras to pursue a career in films, he asked himself. He was then twenty-five years old. He had his parents, a wife and son to support. His job gave him a sense of security but he was not happy there. ‘I am forced to sell my heart and soul in this office,’ he lamented in a letter he wrote on 10 October 1947 to his friend Kongara Jaggaiah.²⁵ Although he was confident of succeeding in films, there was no guarantee. If he went to Madras and failed there, he would become overaged for government jobs.

Chalapati Rao, joint registrar at the office, was a kind and worldly-wise person. NTR respected him. Chalapati Rao was fond of NTR and he believed that the handsome young man would have a bright future in films. He advised Tarakam to take the risk and seize his chance. Tarakam went home and told his family of his decision and wrote to Ramaiah, who was in Nimmakuru.

Nobody in NTR’s family was in favour of his leaving the job and going to Madras in search of opportunities in cinema. They did not want to be parted from him. They could not understand why he would want to leave the security of a government job at home to take his chances in a faraway city.

Tarakam explained that he wanted to restore the lost fortunes and dignity of the family. Besides they could not all live and prosper on his meagre salary or educate their children and give them a good future. Besides, he had taken two months’ unpaid leave from work and if Madras and films did not work out, he could go back to his government job.