Nandamuri Balakrishna (Popularly known as Balayya) needs no introduction in Tollywood. Being a son of one of the greatest actors Telugu Cinema has ever seen – Sr.NTR, Balakrishna made an entry as a child artist to Telugu films during early 70s. Most of his films as a child artist were in Sr.NTRs films and one noted performance of his dates back to Annadammula Anubandham (Remake of popular Bollywood movie Yaadon Ki Baarat) . He even acted in Sr.NTR’s mythological epic Daana Veera Soora Karna during late 70s.
It was with Mangammagari Manavadu which also had Suhasini and veteran actor Bhanumathi in the lead brought Balakrishna the much needed break in Telugu Cinema as a big time hero. Balakrishna always had a penchant for Mythological roles just like his father and his performance as Siddappa in Shrimat Virat Veerabrahmendra Swami Chaitra was critically acclaimed. He rose to commercial prominence with hits like Apoorva Sahodarulu , Muvva Gopaludu, Nari Nari Naduma Murari and Lorry Driver.
His association with versatile director Singeetham Srinivasa Rao began with the only Time Travel Telugu film ever made - Aditya 369 released in 1991. The film featured Balakrishna as the main hero as well as the role of Emperor Sri Krishnadevaraya which earned great name for him. In fact, a sequel to the film is also currently in progress . Their association continued with another popular film Bhairava Dweepam which dealt with socio fantasy and folklore themes. This film was a huge hit again and is termed an important milestone in his career. Another film which came in their combination is Sri Krishnarjuna Vijayam which was based on Indian Epic Mahabharata. His next breakthrough came with Samarasimha Reddy where he acted as the factionist from Rayalaseema. It created a new wave of Telugu Cinema which featured the violence and issues in the backdrop of Rayalaseema region of AP.
Balakrishna continued to experiment in different roles and characterizations all through his career graph. Having a strong liking for mythological, art and adventurous movies, Balakrishna tried out most of the movie genres like his father Sr.NTR did. Playing the role of Lord Rama in Sri Rama Rajyam (2011) , which was done by Sr.NTR in Lava Kusa itself shows his interest in doing challenging roles. It is even said that he takes special care in various aspects of movie filming and he is a true director’s actor.
iQlik Movies wishes Balakrishna (Nandamuri Nata Simham) a very Happy Birthday and wish him a good cinematic year ahead!
Qlik here for Different Shades and some rare photos of Balayya.
Qlik here for Different Shades and some rare photos of Balayya.
