Nandamuri Harikrishna (2 September 1956 – 29 August 2018) was an Indian politician, actor, and film producer. He served as the Member of Parliament in the

Rajya Sabha Rajya Sabha (Council of States) is the upper house of the Parliament of India and functions as the institutional representation of India’s federal units — the states and union territories.https://rajyasabha.nic.in/ It is a key component o ...

, the upper house the

Indian Parliament The Parliament of India (ISO: ) is the supreme legislative body of the Government of the Republic of India. It is a bicameral legislature composed of the Rajya Sabha (Council of States) and the Lok Sabha (House of the People). The President o ...

representing the Indian state of

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...

from 2008 to 2013 and a member of the

Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly The Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly ( Telugu: ఆంధ్రప్రదేశ్ శాసన సభ, ISO: ''Āndhra Pradēś Śāsana Sabha'') is the lower house of the bicameral legislature of the Indian state, Andhra Pradesh. ...

from 1996 to 1999. His film works were predominantly in

Telugu cinema Telugu cinema, also known as Tollywood, is the segment of Cinema of India, Indian cinema dedicated to the production of Film, motion pictures in the Telugu language, widely spoken in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Based in Film N ...

. Harikrishna was the fourth son of actor and former

chief minister of Andhra Pradesh The chief minister of Andhra Pradesh is the chief executive of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. In accordance with the Constitution of India, the governor is a state's ''de jure'' head, but '' de facto'' executive authority rests with the ch ...

, N. T. Rama Rao. His sons

N. T. Rama Rao Jr. Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao Jr. (born 20 May 1983), popularly known as NTR Jr, is an Indian actor, producer, and television presenter who primarily works in Telugu cinema. He is one of the highest-paid actors in Indian cinema and has been featur ...

and Nandamuri Kalyan Ram are actors and daughter Nandamuri Venkata Suhasini is a politician. He is also the brother of the famous Telugu actor and politician

Nandamuri Balakrishna Nandamuri Balakrishna (born 10 June 1960), also known as Balayya or NBK, is an Indian actor, film producer, politician and philanthropist known for his works in Telugu cinema. Balakrishna is an elected member of the Andhra Pradesh Legislative A ...

also called ''Balayya''.

Early life

Harikrishna was born on 2 September 1956 in Nimmakuru village of

Krishna district Krishna district is a district in the Coastal Andhra region in Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, with Machilipatnam as its administrative headquarters. It is surrounded on the East by Bay of Bengal, West by Guntur district, Guntur, Bapatla distric ...

in present-day

to N. T. Rama Rao and Basava Ramatarakam as their 4th son. He has eleven siblings: seven brothers and four sisters.

Acting career

Harikrishna made his acting debut in 1964 as a child artist in '' Sri Krishnavataram'', in which he played Krishna. It was directed by Kamalakara Kameshwara Rao. He then starred in '' Thalla? Pellama?'' (1970), followed by '' Tatamma Kala'' (1974), '' Ram Raheem'' (1974), and '' Daana Veera Soora Karna'' (1977). After a long sabbatical and political stint, he starred as a character actor in works such as '' Sri Ramulayya'' (1998), followed by a full-length role alongside

Nagarjuna Nāgārjuna (Sanskrit: नागार्जुन, ''Nāgārjuna''; ) was an Indian monk and Mahayana, Mahāyāna Buddhist Philosophy, philosopher of the Madhyamaka (Centrism, Middle Way) school. He is widely considered one of the most importa ...

in '' Seetharama Raju'' (1999), '' Lahiri Lahiri Lahirilo'' (2002), and '' Seetayya'' (2003). In 2002, he received

Nandi Award The Nandi Awards are annual awards presented by the Government of Andhra Pradesh to recognise excellence in Telugu cinema, theatre, and television, as well as lifetime achievements in Indian cinema. The awards are named after the monolithic s ...

for Best Character Actor for his work in '' Lahiri Lahiri Lahirilo'' (2002).

Political career

Harikrishna, who had a knack for driving, drove his father's "Chaitanya Ratham" (chariot of consciousness), a revamped and customised green

Chevrolet Chevrolet ( ) is an American automobile division of the manufacturer General Motors (GM). In North America, Chevrolet produces and sells a wide range of vehicles, from subcompact automobiles to medium-duty commercial trucks. Due to the promi ...

with registration number ABR 7776 during his father's political campaignings. The vehicle was reportedly used to campaign over 75,000 kms and assumed mammoth significance in the state's politics. Outspoken and rebellious by nature, Harikrishna was instrumental in staging the 1995 coup that dethroned his father N. T. Rama Rao during Chief Ministership of N. T. Rama Rao alongside N. Chandrababu Naidu, Daggubati Venkateswara Rao and

. He served as the member of

during 1996–1999 as the elected MLA from Hindupur Assembly constituency. He became a Cabinet Minister for Road Transport in 1996. In a historic move, he opened the doors for women in the State Road Transport Corporation. Hundreds of women were hired as bus conductors. However, following rifts with Naidu, he floated his own Anna Telugu Desam Party in 1999 but returned to his previous party in 2006 after the ATDP failed to win a single seat in the

1999 Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly election The 1999 Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly election was conducted in 3 phases simultaneously with the 1999 Indian general election for the 11th Andhra Pradesh Assembly. The election was held on 4 September 1999, 11 September 1999 and 17 Sept ...

. He shared a bittersweet relationship with his brother-in-law Naidu, often expressing displeasure about his son

being ignored for the party ranks. In 2008, he was a candidate of the

Telugu Desam Party The Telugu Desam Party (TDP; ) is an Indian regional political party primarily active in the Federated state, states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. It was founded by Telugu cinema, Telugu matinée idol N. T. Rama Rao (NTR) on 29 March 1982 a ...

and was elected to

. In 2013, he renounced his

seat as a mark of protest against the then

United Progressive Alliance The United Progressive Alliance (UPA; Hindi: Saṁyukta Pragatiśīl Gaṭhabandhan) was a Political group, political alliance in India led by the Indian National Congress. It was formed after the 2004 Indian general election, 2004 general ele ...

government's decision to divide

Personal life

Jr ntr with father Hari krishna at jai lava kusha event

Harikrishna married Lakshmi Kumari on 22 February 1973 and they have two sons, Janaki Ram and Kalyan Ram, and a daughter, Suhasini. He later married Shalini Bhaskar Rao, a Kannadathi from Kundapur, in 1981. They have one son, Taraka Ram. His elder son, Janaki Ram, died in a road mishap, on 6 December 2014.

Death

Harikrishna died in a car crash in

Nalgonda district Nalgonda district is a district in the Telangana state of India. Nalgonda district has the highest number of mandals in the state with 31 mandals. The district shares boundaries with Suryapet district, Suryapet, Rangareddy, Yadadri Bhuvanagiri, ...

, Narketpally, on 29 August 2018 at the age of 61. He was driving at a high speed without a seat belt on his way to the

Nellore district Nellore district, officially known as Sri Potti Sriramulu Nellore district in Coastal Andhra Region, is one of the 26 districts in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. According to the 2011 Census, the district's population was 2,963,557 of which ...

to attend a private ceremony of his friend, accompanied by two others. His Toyota Fortuner crashed into a

road median A median strip, central reservation, roadway median, or traffic median is the reserved area that separates opposing lanes of traffic on divided roadways such as divided highways, dual carriageways, freeways, and motorways. The term also app ...

on Nalgonda district Highway near Narkatpally when he bent over to pick up a water bottle. His son Janaki Ram died on the same highway in 2014. Janakiram was a Telugu movie producer under the N. T. R. Arts banner who also met a tragic death in a road crash while travelling alone from

Vijayawada Vijayawada ( ), formerly known by its colonial name Bezawada, is the second largest city and a major commercial hub in the Andhra Pradesh state of India. The city forms an integral part of the Andhra Pradesh Capital Region and is situated on th ...

Hyderabad Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...

. Reports say that, his car collided with a tractor near Akumpamala village in Munagala mandal of

. He was rushed to a private hospital in Kodad, where he died of

internal bleeding Internal bleeding (also called internal haemorrhage) is a loss of blood from a blood vessel that collects inside the body, and is not usually visible from the outside. It can be a serious medical emergency but the extent of severity depends on b ...

Filmography

Awards

* He won Nandi Award for Best Character Actor - Lahiri Lahiri Lahirilo (2002)(in Telugu)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Harikrishna, Nandamuri 1956 births 2018 deaths Nandamuri Harikrishna Telugu politicians Indian male child actors Rajya Sabha members from Andhra Pradesh Indian male film actors People from Krishna district 20th-century Indian male actors Nandi Award winners Telugu Desam Party politicians Telugu male actors Indian actor-politicians Road incident deaths in India