NT Rama Rao and Akkineni Nageswara Rao were the two stalwarts of the Telugu film industry. They ruled the roost for several years with some of their major hits being released during the 1960s and 1970s. Both ANR and NTR, despite being competitors in the Telugu film industry, had shared a very good rapport. Therefore, it is quite natural that Akkineni Nageswara Rao should feature in the NTR biopic.
ANR’s grandson Sumanth has been roped in to play his granddad in the NTR biopic and he is really excited to play the role. In an interview, the actor is reported to have told: “I feel blessed to be chosen for this film. Among all our cousins, my age suits well with the age group of ANR in the movie. That is why I was roped in.”
On his role and get-up in the film, he told: “You can see me as 30-year-old ANR to 65-year-old ANR in NTR. As we cannot afford to play all kind of roles the legendary actor has played, we have taken combination scenes of NTR and ANR.”
The star cast also comprises Vidya Balan, Prakash Raj, Murali Sharma, Rakul Preet Singh and Kaikala Satyanarayana in pivotal roles. Reports are that Rakul Preet Singh, Keerthy Suresh, Mohan Babu, and Sumanth are playing Sri Devi, Savitri, SV Ranga Rao and A Nageswara Rao respectively. Rana Daggubati will be seen as the current Andhra chief minister and NTR’s son-in-law N Chandrababu Naidu.
The biopic is bankrolled by N Balakrishna along with Sai Korrapati and Vishnu Induri. The project is being helmed by J Krish. The shooting of the NTR biopic went on floors in July this year and is progressing at a good pace. The filmmakers intend to release it for Sankaranthi next year and are working hard to meet the deadline.
(Content provided by Digital Native)