Actors Jr NTR and Nandamuri Kalyan Ram visited their cousin Taraka Ratna in Bengaluru, where he is undergoing treatment after suffering a cardiac arrest earlier on Friday, January 27. Speaking to the media outside the Narayana Institute of Cardiac Sciences (Narayana Hrudalaya) on Sunday, Jr NTR said that Taraka Ratna’s condition is stable, but that doctors have said that he is still in a critical condition. Their uncle, actor Nandamuri Balakrishna, too spoke to the media and said that the family was hoping for Taraka Ratna’s condition to improve.

“It’s a very unfortunate incident… Along with treatment, and his morale, he has the blessings of fans and our grandfather (Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao). I pray that he recovers soon and is back to being joyful with all of us,”  Jr NTR said. He added that the doctors said that Taraka Ratna is stable and responding to treatment, but not yet out of a critical state. The actor also thanked Karnataka Health Minister K Sudhakar for helping the family.

“He is in the same situation as he was when he was brought in from Kuppam. He is not deteriorating, we are waiting for an improvement,” Balakrishna said.

Taraka Ratna is the grandson of Telugu Desam Party (TDP) founder and actor Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao, and a member of the TDP. On Friday, he was in Kuppam in Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh to attend the launch of TDP general secretary Nara Lokesh’s padayatra, when he collapsed after suffering a cardiac arrest.

He was transferred to Narayana Hrudayala around 1 am on Saturday. The hospital issued a media bulletin on Saturday which said, “He remains in a critical state on maximal support. He will continue to be under rigorous evaluation and treatment in the coming days.”