Based on the life of legendary actor and former Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao, popularly known as NTR, the movie, NTR Kathanayakudu, hit the cinemas today. In the Telugu biopic, the role of NTR will be essayed by his son, Nandamuri Balakrishna, who is a mirror image of his actor-director-politician father while Vidya Balan is playing the female lead as NTR’s real-life wife, Basavatarakam, whom the politician married when he was 20 years old.
Helmed by Krish Jagarlamudi and produced by Nandamuri Balakrishna, Sai Korrapati Ranganatha, Vishnu Induri under NBK Films, Vaaraahi Chalana Chitram and Vibri Media banners, the music of the biographical drama is composed by MM Keeravani. Rana Daggubati is essaying the role of the current chief minister, Chandrababu Naidu, who is NTR’s son-in-law.
The biopic, which has released in over 1,000 screens in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and certain parts of Tamil Nadu, managed to extract mixed responses so far from the movie-goers. Read tweets here:
#NTRKathayanakudu trending at top 2 on https://t.co/VwCHoIw9g0 In ticket sale in USA. 2 Telugu movies #Agnyaathavaasi and #Spyder trended in top 5 on premiers day and both movies collected more than a million from premiers
one more million dollar premier Telugu movie on cards!!
— BennySpeaks (@benny_speaks) January 8, 2019
#NTRKathayanakudu Show finished happy tears ntrbiopic is going to be all time indistry hit movie ipudu nenu cheputhuna on few min meru antha cheputharu…..
— lakshman (@laxman9999) January 8, 2019
Interval was good…emotional 😰😰 #NTRKathayanakudu #SAPremiereUpdate
— entertainer (@GowthamS9999) January 8, 2019
movie flop
Bul bul gadu kanna sampoornesh would have done justice to #NTRKathayanakudu
— Prithvi Tiwari (@xeonintel) January 9, 2019
Terrific 2nd half @DirKrish u nailed it congrats to the whole team. Especially krishna scene and party announcement scenes are🔥🤙#NandamuriBalakrishna @writersaimadhav dialogues 🔥 @mmkeeravaani sir bgm
Eagerly waiting for #NTRMAHANAYAAKUDU
jai N T R ✊#NTRKathayanakudu— gagan (@gaganratakonda2) January 9, 2019
First half Ok Second half Very Good. Excellent Direction and very good elevating scenes. I would recommend my friends to watch it #NTRKathayanakudu
— bindukiran (@bindukiran) January 9, 2019
#ntrkathanayakudu Good First half with emotional family scenes and Second Half is more for Fans and Masses.. Much Needed Elevations and #NandamuriBalakrishna Excelled in Portraying #NTR Garu. Do Not Miss this Epic Bio Pic #NTRKathayanakudu Stage All Set for #NTRMahanayakudu
— sai srujan (@sai_pelluri) January 8, 2019
#NTRKathayanakudu : Strictly a one time watch for very good last 30 mins, dialogues, BGM and NBK’s performance in later part of the movie
Average 1st half with no emotional connect at all and decent 2nd half
Fans may like it but difficult for others to sit through the movie..
— CinemaPichhi (@CinemaPichhi) January 9, 2019
#NTRKathayanakudu @DirKrish Just watched movie in Madison, WI.Nandamuri balayya as NTR, @vidya_balan as Tarakam did fabulous performance. @iSumanth as ANR did an awesome act.Balayaa did his life role. Sr NTR is not only a god but also a definition of Telugu.Eagarly Waiting for II
— Ajay Kumar (@akumarraju) January 9, 2019
#NTRKathayanakudu
Fans may like it but difficult for others to sit through the movie..— Deejaysai Kumar (@Deejaysaikumar) January 9, 2019
#NTRKathayanakudu
Average 1st half with no emotional connect at all and decent 2nd half !!— Deejaysai Kumar (@Deejaysaikumar) January 9, 2019
.@vidya_balan playing the lead female protagonist is an absolute delight. It is her combination scenes with #Balakrishna that bring the highly engaging moments in the movie. #KathanayakuduReview #Kathanayakudu #NTRKathayanakudu #NTRBiopic https://t.co/FMp2eVFoYN
— Mirchi9 (@Mirchi9) January 9, 2019
The portions in the first half needed a younger charismatic persona. It is in the second half where #Balakrishna totally gets into the character when it looks age appropriate. The acting and the visuals are a perfect match then.#NTRKathayanakudu #NTRKathanayukudu #NTRBiopic https://t.co/FMp2eVFoYN
— Mirchi9 (@Mirchi9) January 9, 2019
Earlier, ahead of the film’s release, Vidya Balan and Nandamuri Balakrishna had visited NTR’s village where they reportedly had to launch the audio but later cancelled the plan due to incessant rainfall. In an interview with Deccan Chronicle, Balakrishna had said, “The audio was supposed to be released here, but we couldn’t do it because of the heavy rains. So, we just visited and got the blessings of all the elders of the village.”
Apart from the lead cast, South actress Rakul Preet plays the role of Sridevi in the biopic while Sumanth, another Telugu film industry stalwart, is essaying the role of A Nageswara Rao and Sachin Khedekar is playing former Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Nadendla Bhaskara Rao. The biopic was to be released in two parts titled N.T.R: Kathanayakudu and N.T.R: Mahanayakudu. While the first part about the rise of Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao as an actor has hit the screens today, the second about his political rise is much awaited.