Anna NTR Digital Archive

Chapter I

A life told in
four movements.

From the mythologicals that shaped a people's spiritual imagination, to the political awakening that gave a language its self-respect - every chapter of NTR's life was performed with the same conviction.

The Actor

300+ films across four decades

The Leader

Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, thrice

The Writer

Poet, playwright, philosopher

The Visionary

Founder of Telugu Desam Party

Chapter II · Timeline

Milestones of an extraordinary life.

1923
Born in Nimmakuru
Born on May 28 in a farming family in Krishna district - a beginning that would become a legend.
1949
Manadesam - Debut
Enters Telugu cinema, embarking on a career that would define a golden era of Indian film.
1982
Telugu Desam Party
Founds a party in nine months; changes the political imagination of a state forever.
1983
Chief Minister
Sworn in as the 10th Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, elected on a promise of self-respect.
1993
Major Chandrakanth - Final Film
Takes his last bow before the camera, closing a screen journey of more than four decades.
1996
The Final Farewell
Passes on January 18, leaving behind an ocean of admirers and an imperishable legacy.

Title Cards

Four frames,
one lifetime.

A god on a temple chariot, a court at war with itself, three ages of one face, and a crowd that answered. Keep scrolling and they change, one at a time.

N. T. Rama Rao01 / 04

Composite of N. T. Rama Rao in his mythological roles, before a temple chariot

Composite of N. T. Rama Rao in his Mahabharata roles

Composite of N. T. Rama Rao at three stages of his life

Composite of N. T. Rama Rao with the Telugu Desam Party flag before a crowd

The Mythologicals

The Face of the Divine

Rama, Krishna, Vishnu - for a generation of Telugu audiences, the gods wore one face.

The Epic

Every Side of the Court

Krishna in one film, Duryodhana in the next. He played the epic from every side of its quarrel.

The Continuum

Three Ages, One Man

The young lead, the leader in white - four decades apart, held in a single frame.

1982

A State That Answered

Thirty-three years before a camera, then a flag, a van, and a crowd past the frame's edge.

Cinema · 1949—1993

284 films, and the faces of a people.

View full filmography →

Krishna and Rama, Ravana and Karna, then the farmer, the driver and the judge — 16 of them he directed himself, and 27 he produced.

The best 25, ranked

Ranking from IMDb's 25 best N. T. Rama Rao films. Poster artwork remains the copyright of the original distributors, shown here for identification while the archive's own scans are catalogued.

All 284 films →

1982 · The Party

Nine months from a stage
to a state.

On 29 March 1982, after thirty-three years in front of a camera, NTR founded the Telugu Desam Party on a single promise - the self-respect of the Telugu people. He campaigned from the Chaitanya Ratham, a converted van, crossing the state to speak in villages no leader had thought worth the journey. Nine months later the party swept the assembly election, and on 9 January 1983 he was sworn in as Chief Minister - the first from outside the Congress in Andhra Pradesh's history.

29 March 1982: Telugu Desam Party founded at Hyderabad
Nine months: From founding to a governing majority
Three terms: Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh

Portrait of N. T. Rama Rao from his years in public life — The plough and house - symbols on the party's official flag

Portrait of N. T. Rama Rao addressing a gathering — The plough and house - symbols on the party's official flag

Chapter III · The Library

Words that outlive their author.

Enter the library →

Book

Taraka Ramamaam

A free reading experience from the Anna NTR library.