NTR biopic: Rana Daggubati’s look as Chandrababu Naidu released

The makers of the NTR biopic yesterday teased fans with the look of Rana Daggubati as Nara Chandrababu Naidu, son-in-law of the legendary actor and former Andhra Pradesh chief minister Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao (NTR), on the eve of the actor’s 34th birthday today.

In the poster, Baahubali star Rana Daggubati is seen waving to the crowds and appears to have lost a lot of weight for the role.

Directed by Krish Jagarlamudi, the film will be released in two parts. Titled NTR Kathanayakudu, the first part is slated for release during the Sankranti festival next year while the second part, NTR Mahanayakudu, will hit the screens two weeks later.

Actor-politician Nandamuri Balakrishna steps into the shoes of his late father NTR in the film, which stars Vidya Balan in her maiden Telugu film as NTR’s first wife Basavatarakam. The project also stars Manjima Mohan, Sumanth, Sachin Khedekar, Nithya Menen, Shalini Pandey and Rakul Preet Singh, among others, in key roles.

Apparently, the first part of the film will focus on NTR’s rise as an actor and touch upon his stardom. The second part will shine the spotlight on his political career and how he went on to become chief minister.

The project was officially launched on 29 March in Hyderabad by India's vice-president M Venkaiah Naidu. The who’s who of Telugu cinema came together for the grand launch of this prestigious project, which was originally supposed to be directed by Teja, who opted out owing to creative differences.