NTR is Uninterested in Being Defined by Legacy
Grandson to a demigod of Telugu cinema, he could’ve been boxed in by expectation. But 30 films in—and poised for his big launch into Hindi cinema with War 2—NTR is more interested in being present: dancing, cooking and raising his sons to think beyond the family trade
NTR and I’ve always met on screens.
Twenty years ago, I shuffled through a pack of movie CDs at home. It was a strict Telugu father’s treasure trove of South Indian cinema. Among the early 2000s classics—Daggubati Venkatesh waging a cop-versus-gangster war in Gharshana (2004), Mahesh Babu as a sharpshooter in Athadu (2005) and Allu Arjun’s quintessential college lover-boy charm in Arya (2004)—I remember this standout: Samba (2004), starring Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao Jr., known today simply as NTR.
He played the titular role in this mass entertainer and revenge saga, set against the backdrop of factionalism in Andhra’s Rayalaseema region and peppered with social messages around the importance of education for children. His boyish looks, mixed with a portrayal of grit and anger that belied his age, somehow matched the emotional intensity that unfolds in the movie. It was arresting.
While it flew under the radar at the box office, Samba was one of NTR’s ‘massy’ performances in the early 2000s. Since then, I’ve followed his work relentlessly, culminating most recently with director Koratala Siva’s Devara (2024). Along the way, he has become a star among audiences beyond India. While he has delivered multiple commercial successes, SS Rajamouli’s RRR (2022) took him to a new level of prominence, becoming the fourth highest-grossing Indian film.
Fast forward to 2025. NTR and I connect on a long interview call. Logistical issues prevent us from seeing each other on screen, but there’s a familiarity to his voice—one that I have come to know through his cinema.
The next couple of years could very well be defining for NTR. He stars alongside Hrithik Roshan in Ayan Mukerji’s War 2, which releases in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu on 14 August. Then, in 2026, he returns to screens in Dragon (tentatively named ‘NTR 31’), directed by Prashanth Neel (KGF, Salaar).
Grandson and son of legends, and now a force of his own as a third-generation movie star, how did growing up among powerful male figures shape who he is today? His grandfather NT Rama Rao is considered one of the most prominent figures in Indian cinema. His father, Nandamuri Harikrishna, was a renowned actor, producer and politician, while his brother, Nandamuri Kalyan Ram, is also an actor.
With legacy behind him and success in the bag, what keeps him hungry—especially as he closes in on his Bollywood debut?
“I am someone who doesn’t plan things out,” he says. “One of my favourite quotes is from Kung Fu Panda, where Oogway says: ‘Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. That is why it is called the present.’ So, my present is my focus right now. I think an actor should always be ready for anything.”
That readiness, it seems, is what led him to War 2. He credits producer Aditya Chopra’s “perseverance” in ensuring he was cast, and speaks highly of his friend Ayan Mukerji’s body of work. But more than anything, NTR sees this film as a reflection of something larger. “South and North cinema have come together for this movie,” he says. “There’s no Bollywood, Tollywood or Mollywood anymore. We have become one big, united Indian film industry.”
He adds, “I don't think there is a right or wrong project. Even Mr Rajamouli would agree with me that there is no recipe to deliver hit movies. But the main reason for me to choose War 2 was definitely the script, its potential and my excitement to work with Hrithik sir.”
The trailer for the film—in which Roshan reprises his role as Major Kabir Dhaliwal—dropped on 25 July to mark 25 years in the industry for both actors. It shows NTR moving through an array of emotions as he performs dangerous stunts, delivers heavy-hitting dialogues in impeccable Hindi and unleashes the signature death stare that has defined his on-screen persona for years. In just four days, the trailer racked up close to 32 million views on YouTube. Viewers noted not only Roshan’s magnetic presence but NTR’s raw intensity, too.
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As he prepares to enter a new world of fandom with War 2—and as Esquire India’s cover star—it’s hard not to notice the transformation NTR has undergone. In what is his first-ever magazine cover shoot, the 42-year-old stands tall among skyscrapers, resplendent in red, with the Dubai skyline behind him. Leaner than in any of his previous roles, photographer Ben Cope captures him at ease, but also in action.
“I loved it!” he says of the shoot, a hint of excitement in his voice—surprised by how much he relished stepping out of his comfort zone. “I’ve never understood how you can just hold on to an expression, look into a camera and pose. Even in my movies, I rarely pose for the still camera. But I must say that what we've shot for Esquire India, I should actually put it on top of my list so far. I really enjoyed it. The whole team made me feel so fresh.”
Telugu cinema is unlike any other form of entertainment in India. Actors are given godlike status. A movie’s success isn’t measured in money or revenue, but by how many consecutive days it runs in theatres: 50 days. 75 days. 100 days. 175 days.
While the ‘days system’ is slightly less relevant in today’s multiplex and OTT era, every day crossed gives fans a chance to grab the bragging rights about their favourite star. From newspaper confetti to fan associations, cinema stardom and fan worship are linked intrinsically down South.
NTR is no stranger to this kind of fame. He credits actors like Amitabh Bachchan and Ranbir Kapoor as inspiration, but perhaps there has been no bigger influence on his life and career than his grandfather, NT Rama Rao, after whom he was named. In fact, his very first role was as a child artist in NT Rama Rao’s mythological film Brahmarshi Vishwamitra (1991). “I’m bound to get inspired by him because he was my first exposure to cinema,” NTR says of his legendary grandfather. “When you do something for the first time, it leaves a big impact on you. In that sense, he is imprinted on me.”
Historians and film scholars consider NT Rama Rao a pivotal figure in the evolution of the Telugu cinema industry. As an actor, he appeared in over 300 films; alongside his screen career, he also grew on the political stage, founding the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) in 1982 and serving three terms as chief minister, becoming an icon of ‘Telugu pride’. According to academician C Yamini Krishna, a film scholar and author of an upcoming book on the film industry in Hyderabad, NT Rama Rao, with the likes of Akkineni Nageswara Rao, played an important role in shifting the base of Telugu cinema from Chennai to Hyderabad, laying the foundation for film studios and other infrastructure that helped transform the city into a hub for filmmakers. “He has a lot of legacy in multiple ways,” says Krishna, who is also assistant professor of literary and cultural studies at FLAME University, Pune. “His mythological roles were very significant to the Telugu public. His theatrical style of acting was drawn from stage practice. He is very significant in both the film and political domain."
Today, NTR is on his own journey, one that honours the legacy but isn’t bound by it. “Be it as an actor, a person or a father, I draw a lot from him,” he says. “I am a firm believer that what you leave behind when you leave this world physically is not only your body of work or what you have done for society. What constantly also remains are your character and credibility. That is something I draw from him. He always stood his ground: jaan jaaye, par vachan na jaaye (let life be lost, but not one’s word). He continues to inspire not only me, but a lot of people down here in the South.”
His grandfather is considered one of the best method actors of his generation, but NTR prefers to let the magic unfold without method. “I don’t have a process. I’m very instinctive,” he explains. “When scenes are given to me, I don’t go through them at all. I don’t let them sit in my head. I just wake up in the morning and go to the set. There is this constant fight that keeps going in me—what is right and what is wrong? And just before I go in front of that camera, there is sudden clarity. It clears the path for what needs to happen next.”
Just as he trusts his instincts on set, those around him have long recognised his natural ability. In recent times, his contemporaries have also spoken about what NTR brings to the table. Rajamouli, who cast NTR in his directorial debut Student No 1 in 2001 and has worked with him on four films, once called him a “born actor”. “I don’t need to tell him anything,” Rajamouli said during the promotions of RRR. “He has a fantastic memory. As soon as I describe a scenario or a story, it is permanently ingrained in his mind.” Even his Devara co-star Janhvi Kapoor, in an earlier interview, noted how “he comes to life on camera” the moment he walks into a frame.
“He’s one of the biggest names in Telugu cinema,” says a prominent Telugu film critic, who did not wish to be identified. “Unlike Bollywood, there is no proper hierarchy in Telugu cinema. NTR, Allu Arjun, Ram Charan and Mahesh Babu are all right up there. But what makes NTR stand out is his ground-level following, especially in rural areas. Devara is one of the recent movies that absolutely killed it in single-screen theatres and not just multiplexes. People are equally excited about Dragon.”
NTR has journeyed from being known as the ‘young tiger’ among fans to being called the ‘man of the masses’ today. Most of his roles in the early part of his career showcased him as a student leader, a protector of family values, a vengeful son or an anti-hero who turned righteous. He even had a brief tryst with politics himself when he campaigned for the TDP in 2009. What has this taught him about fame and men who hold power?
“It does not matter how a man looks, smells or what he wears. It’s always what’s on the inside that defines his character,” he says. “For me, honesty is probably the most important character in a man. I think a woman can define the power of a man more than a man defining it for himself… You don’t need to look powerful or all ‘testosterone-ish’.”
And yet, few embody masculine energy on screen quite like he does, especially through movement. In Devara, a period-action drama which also stars Saif Ali Khan, Janhvi Kapoor and NTR in a dual role, he dances alone around a bonfire to the tune of coastal beats and music before other characters join in. In the song, called Devara Thandavam (‘tandava’ roughly translates to ‘frantic dance’), the actor is at his free-flowing best. Shoulders swaying like he’s floating in the air, he flicks the sand away and moves like the ocean that forms an integral theme in the movie.
Then there’s his hook step with Ram Charan in Naatu Naatu from RRR, a fictionalised epic of two historical freedom fighters. The step, and the song, went viral for all the right reasons and clinched a much-deserved Oscar, adding another highlight to his already impressive dance reel.
Trained in Kuchipudi since childhood, NTR believes dance completes him as an actor. “Dance communicates so much. It’s a lovely way of showing joy or sorrow,” he says. “The last time I danced was yesterday. For me, moving around is also a dance moment. It’s in my body. I can never stand still. I think my mother realised that early and introduced me to Kuchipudi.”
The ability to pace himself—or measure his steps—extends to his emotional world too. “Anger is a strict no-no for me,” he says. “Yes, controlled anger can push you towards success but not anger. One needs to have that softness in life.”
Softness and calm enter his life through his family, it is fair to say. NTR has often referred to the birth of his elder son, Abhay, 11, as a turning point in his life. It changed him not just as a person but also an actor. His younger son, Bhargava, is 7. “I started searching for that naiveness in my work,” he says. “I did not want it to be easy. I began looking for roles that pushed me, where there was something to learn or earn through effort.”
And even though both his sons are movie buffs, NTR doesn’t necessarily want them to follow the path he chose. “I do not want to be one of those fathers who says: ‘Tumko bhi actor banna hai (You need to become an actor too)’. I don’t believe in that; I want to be a bridge rather than a barrier, someone who gives them exposure to the world and other cultures. I want to give them the opportunity to go out and experience it for themselves.” For now, though, he is happy to spend time with them gaming on the PlayStation and building Legos.
He is also trying to strike a balance between work and life, especially as a father. “Earlier, I used to shoot seven days a week, 30 days a month. But now I insist on taking Sunday off and spending time with Abhay and Bhargava, because that is the only day I have with them,” he says. “As they get older and move to higher grades in school, that whole mahaul (environment) of bonding thoda kam ho jaata hai (it gets smaller every time). That’s why I make it a point to take time off on major festivals because I want to teach them the culture behind them.”
As a man away from work, NTR also likes to cook up a storm in the kitchen, especially for his wife. “I am a chef,” he says right off the bat when I ask him about how he unwinds. “I like to cook for Pranathi, my friends and everybody around me.” His love for food is defined by two traditional Telugu dishes: Punugulu (fluffy fritters made with idli-dosa batter, onions and spices) and, of course, “I love my biryani!”
Behind the playfulness and a more balanced approach to life now, it is easy to forget that NTR is still only 30 films old. But he says his journey as an actor is still unfolding. “I don’t know what’s going to happen with the legacy of films in the family. Or who’s going to hold the baton after me. I haven’t planned for all that,” he says. “I feel there are two images that we portray: the reel and the real. I prefer the real. The more real you are, the more you connect with the masses. I want to be remembered for telling stories that resonate. But most of all, I want to be remembered as an honest man with emotions.”
With that, NTR signs off from the conversation on the black screen one more time, till I meet him again at the nearest cinema hall.
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