Rama Rao Taraka Nandamuri was born into a farming family, and after completing his Bachelor of Arts degree, he began his career with the government. He married Nandamuri Basavatarakam and started acting in films, with his first being Mana Desam in 1949, where he played a police officer. His first movie as a hero was Palletoori Pilla in 1950, which became a massive hit. This was followed by a string of successful movies, including Showkar, Pathala Bhairavi, Malliswari, and Chandraharam, which solidified his position as the top hero in the Telugu film industry.
He then went on to play mythological roles, including his first portrayal as Lord Krishna in Mayabazar in 1957. He acted in most of the major roles in the epic productions "Ramayana" and "Mahabharatam", even in Tamil films. Throughout his career, he acted in a total of 254 films, including some Tamil and Hindi films. However, he faced some setbacks in the late 1960s and early 1970s, but bounced back with a bang in the late 1970s with hits like Adavi Ramudu, Yamagola, and Vetagadu.
In the early 1980s, he delivered some more major hits, including Sardar Papa Rayudu, Bobbili Puli, and Kondaveeti Simham. He became the first superstar of Telugu films, a title held by Chiranjeevi until around 2001. Apart from acting, he was an intensely emotional person who also directed films, built a studio, and produced films. He was a strong advocate of Telugu Pride and worked tirelessly to develop his native state.
In 1982, he established the Telugu Desam party and, within a year, became the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh. He married Lakshmi Parvathi in 1993 and was re-elected by a landslide in 1994. However, he was ousted from power by an internal party coup in 1995, led by his son-in-law and current Chief Minister, Chandrababu Naidu. He passed away just six months later in 1996 due to a heart attack. He is survived by his six sons and three daughters, including his son Nandamuri Balakrishna, a renowned actor in Telugu films.
