Happy birthday Nandamuri Balakrishna: Five best performances of the veteran actor

On the occasion of his 60th birthday of Telugu actor Nandamuri Balakrishna, here’s a look at five best performances of his career.

Actor Nandamuri Balakrishna is mostly bracketed into starring in loud commercial films. However, in his over three decade long career, he has starred in several memorable films that wouldn’t have worked if not for his majestic and sometimes over-the-top screen presence. On the occasion of his 60th birthday, we take a look at five best performances of his career.

Nandamuri Balakrishna as his father NT Rama Rao in NTR Kathanayakudu.

Aditya 369

If there’s one underrated Telugu film that was truly ahead of its time, then it has to be Singeetham Srinivasa Rao’s Aditya 369 – which was probably Telugu cinema’s first time travel film. Featuring Balakrishna in dual roles, the movie extracted one of the best performances from the star in his career. Interestingly, the film was presented by legendary playback singer SP Balasubrahmanyam. It also featured Bollywood actors Amrish Puri and Tinnu Anand in pivotal roles.

Sri Rama Rajyam

Members of the Nandamuri clan are widely popular for their portrayal of mythological characters and Balakrishna is no different. In Bapu’s Sri Rama Rajyam, Balakrishna brought life to the role of Lord Rama which he played with effortless ease. It was one of those rare occasions where audiences didn’t find Balakrishna’s performance over-the-top and were quite surprised the amount of subtlety he brought to his performance.

Samarasimha Reddy

In one of his biggest blockbusters of his career, Balakrishna was seen playing a factionist in Samarasimha Reddy, which also starred Simran, Anjala Zaveri and Sanghavi. Directed by B. Gopal, the violence-laden film worked purely due to Balakrishna’s energetic screen presence. Even though many would argue it was over-the-top performance, the truth is nobody could’ve matched Balakrishna’s on screen intensity when it comes to playing such characters.

Bhairava Dweepam

In his second collaboration with Singeetham Srinivasa Rao, Bhairava Dweepam, Balakrishna played a young warrior who swears by utmost honesty. The mythological fantasy drama extracted one of the most explosive and rewarding performance to date from Balakrishna. The film marked the first time Balakrishna played the role of a warrior, and it also starred Roja as the leading lady while Rambha featured in a special song.

NTR Kathanayakudu

In this biopic on legendary actor Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao (NTR), Balakrishna reprised his father’s role and nobody else could’ve done justice to the character. While the film may have failed to work as a biopic on the first Telugu superstar, it was rewarding to see Balakrishna bring back his father alive on screen through a magnificent performance.

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