N. T. Rama Rao

Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao (28 May 1923 – 18 January 1996), often referred to by his initials NTR, was an Indian actor, film director, film producer, screenwriter, film editor, philanthropist, and politician who served as the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh for seven years over four terms. He is regarded as one of the most influential actors of Indian cinema. He starred in over 300 films, predominantly in Telugu cinema, and was referred to as "Viswa Vikhyatha Nata Sarvabhouma" (transl. Universally-renowned star of acting). He was one of the earliest method actors of Indian cinema. In 2013, Rao was voted as "Greatest Indian Actor of All Time" in a CNN-IBN national poll conducted on the occasion of the Centenary of Indian Cinema.

Rama Rao has received numerous honours and accolades, including the Padma Shri in 1968. He also received three National Film Awards for co-producing Thodu Dongalu (1954) and Seetharama Kalyanam (1960) under National Art Theater, Madras, and for directing Varakatnam (1970). Rao garnered the Nandi Award for Best Actor for Kodalu Diddina Kapuram in 1970, and the Inaugural Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Telugu in 1972 for Badi Panthulu.

Rama Rao made his debut as an actor in a Telugu social film Mana Desam, directed by L. V. Prasad in 1949. he got his breakthrough performances in Raju Peda (1954) and gained popularity in the 1960s when he became well known for his portrayals of Hindu deities, especially Krishna, Shiva and Rama, roles which have made him a "messiah of the masses" and a prominent figure in the history of cinema. He later became known for portraying antagonistic characters and Robin Hood-esque hero characters in films. He starred in such films as Pathala Bhairavi (1951), the only south Indian film screened at the first International Film Festival of India, Malliswari (1951), featured at Peking Film Festival, Beijing, China, the enduring classics Mayabazar (1957) and Nartanasala (1963), featured at the Afro-Asian Film Festival that was held in Jakarta, Indonesia. All the four films were included in CNN-IBN's list of "100 greatest Indian films of all time". He co-produced Ummadi Kutumbam, nominated by Film Federation of India as one of its entries to the 1968 Moscow Film Festival. Besides Telugu, he has also acted in a few Tamil films.

He founded the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) in 1982 and served four tumultuous terms as Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh between 1983 and 1995. He was known as an advocate of Andhra Pradesh's distinct cultural identity, distinguishing it from the erstwhile Madras State with which it was often associated. At the national level, he was instrumental in the formation of the National Front, a coalition of non-Congress parties which governed India in 1989 and 1990.