Jr NTR Turns 40: 40 Interesting Facts About the Telugu Superstar

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JR NTR: Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao Jr, also known as Jr NTR, is a global celebrity, all thanks to SS Rajamouli-directed-RRR which featured him in the lead alongside Ram Charan. He achieved worldwide fame with the song Naatu Naatu winning an Oscar for India this year.

Jr NTR’s captivating performances and humble personality have helped him reach the heights of success and garner lots of love, not only from Indian audiences, but also global cinemagoers. His long career in the industry is testimony of his contribution to Indian cinema and we cannot be more thankful to have the pleasure of witnessing his work on the big screen.

As the RRR actor is all set to celebrate his 40th birthday this year, here are some interesting trivia about him that you might not know:

1. Jr NTR was born on 20 May 1983 in Hyderabad.

2. His father Nandamuri Harikrishna was a Telugu film actor and politician and his mother Shalini Bhaskar Rao hailed from Kundapur, Karnataka.

3. Jr NTR is the grandson of legendary Telugu actor and former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, N. T. Rama Rao.

4. He was named Tarak after his legendary grandfather.

5. Jr NTR made his first appearance as a child artist in 1991 in Grandpa Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao’s Brahmarshi Vishwamitra. Both Grandpa and grandson acted together.

6. Then, he acted in filmmaker Gunasekhar’s Bala Ramayanam. The film bagged the National Film Award for Best Children’s Film and two Nandi Awards as well.

7. His first feature film as an adult was Ninnu Choodalani which was released in 2001.

8. Jr NTR married Lakshmi Pranathi in 2011.

9. Pranathi is the daughter of businessman Narne Srinivasa Rao and her mother is the niece of Former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu.

10. Jr NTR and Pranathi are blessed with two sons Nandamuri Abhay Ram and Nandamuri Bhargava Ram.

11. The actor earned a Critics Choice Super Award nomination for his role in RRR.

12. Jr NTR’s film Aadi (2002), directed by debutant V. V. Vinayak, was one of the highest grossers of 2002, next only to Chiranjeevi’s Indra.

13. Did you know that Jr NTR is a trained Kuchipudi dancer? He is a skilled performer and can ace choreographies, that too, without practice.

14. Be it any dance form, the actor excels in every style earning him the status of one of the best dancers in Telugu cinema.

15. Jr NTR’s film Andhrawala had a grand audio function event, which was one of the biggest film events in Telugu cinema.

16. It was no less than a festival as lakhs of people gathered to see the film’s entire cast and crew.

17. In what came as an even bigger shocker, ten special trains were run by Indian railways to take nearly 10 lakh people to the launch event.

18. Superstar Jr NTR has a cult following in Japan.

19. He gained popularity in Japan after the release of Baadshah in which he played the protagonist.

20. Jr NTR is set to make his Hindi debut with War 2.

21. He was featured on Forbes India’s Celebrity List in 2012 and 2016.

22. Apart from being a skilled actor and dancer, Jr NTR is a good singer as well.

23. He recorded his first Telugu song in 2007 for his movie Yamadonga.

24. Later, he also sang super hit songs like 1,2,3 Nenoka Kantri in Kantri, Chary in Adhurs, Sri Anjaneyam in Oosaravelli, Raakasi Raakasi in Rabhasa and many others.

25. Jr NTR has also earned a Filmfare nomination for his song Follow Follow in the film Nannaku Prematho.

26. The actor also believes in numerology and considers 9 to be his lucky number.

27. Needless to mention, the BMW 7 Series car owned by Jr NTR has a license plate of number 9999. He paid Rs 10.5 lakh for the custom plate.

28. Interestingly, every vehicle owned by Jr NTR is registered under the same number.

29. He shares a special bond with director SS Rajamouli.

30. NTR’s first big hit was with SS Rajamouli’s Student No.1 in 2001.

31. Simhadri was his second collaboration with Rajamouli which was one of the highest-grossing Telugu films in 2003.

32. Rajamouli and Jr NTR have collaborated in several successful movies including the director’s magnum opus RRR.

33. In the film RRR, he played the role of 20th century freedom fighter Komaram Bheem.

34. The actor has also hosted the Telugu version of the Bigg Boss reality show that aired on Star Maa channel. He also hosted KBC in Telugu which was a major hit

35. His entry into television brought record ratings for the channel.

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36. Jr NTR is the nephew of actor and politician Nandamuri Balakrishna. He is also related to former Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, N. Chandrababu Naidu.

37. Actors Taraka Ratna, Nara Rohit and politician Nara Lokesh are Jr NTR’s cousin.

38. As the actor hails from a political background, he was the campaigner for the Telugu Desam Party in the 2009 Indian general election in Andhra Pradesh.

39. In 2009, NTR donated Rs 20 lakh to Chief Minister Relief Fund to help in relief operations for flood victims in Andhra Pradesh.

40. In 2014, NTR donated Rs 20 lakh to Chief Minister Relief Fund for victims of Cyclone Hudhud in Andhra Pradesh.