When I was young, I was certainly
an avid movie goer. Of course the heroes of that time were NTR, ANR, Krishna,
Sobhanbabu, Chiranjivi etc. I did not like any specific hero and watched the
movies of all heroes. At that time I found that the younger generation was over
awed by the heroes and each had their own pick. Surprisingly I was not
impressed by any of the heroes but just used to watch the movies.
On the side of the heroines too I
did not have a specific pick but maybe liked Jayasudha but she came later. I
also liked Roja Ramani. Vanisri was quite famous then and I had the pleasure of
sitting right beside her and Nageswarrao in the marriage of one of my
relations. Of course both of them certainly looked glamorous but they were full
of heavy makeup.
Of course NTR was supreme in Pauranikam
movies and I did like his action. In the movie Adavi Ramudu I remember the way
I laughed when he had those songs with his heroine and found his dancing to be
akin to that of an elephant. Of course I liked his action and looks but minus
his paunch. I did not have any high opinion about him and saw him as just
another hero but more successful.
That is how things rested before
I got selected for first Dena Bank which removed me from AP and then later SBI
moved me further away to AP and the connection with AP movies and NTR was cut
off. In Dec 1982 I was at SBI staff training centre at Ameerpet, Hyderabad for
training for a period of 1 month. NTR floated TDP by that time and was going
great guns.
At that time I was not at all
bothered about politics and I was totally unaware of the developments in our
state then except that NTR has floated a political party. At the Training
centre there were people from Bhopal (my circle in SBI), Madras, Chandigarh,
Patna and Lucknow circles. Some of them asked me one day as to what would be
the position of Telugu Desam in the coming elections. I told them it is
impossible for NTR to win and he was just indulging in dramatics. In fact that
was the impression they had about him and I simply supported that without
knowing anything about NTR.
Later NTR came to power with a
bang but I did not follow the later developments as I had no interest at all in
politics then. But yes I read about the developments of Nadendla Bhaskararao
usurping power and later Chandrababu back stabbing NTR to get to power. But
even then I did not have a full idea of what was happening in AP at that time.
I came back to AP only in 2001 by
which time Chandrababu was firmly in saddle and NTR had already died. So I
never bothered to check the facts about NTR and continued to believe what I
knew about him.
Only recently as I had posted in
the group I bought the 2 volumes of NTR’s biography written by Lakshmi Parvathi
and read them. His biography made an immense impression on me. Of course I knew
that Lakshmi Parvathi would be biased on issues concerning herself and would be
against Chandrababu. So how to counter balance that and find at least some
fragments of the fact? For that I saw the interview of Lakshmi Parvathi’s ex
husband as well as those of Jayaprakash Narayan of Loksatta. I knew JP’s
interviews would be the most trustworthy and my opinion of NTR got formulated
by them and also on Lakshmi Parvatahi’s biography for his earlier years prior
to entering politics.
When I looked at NTR’s life I
found I missed the reality by miles. I was terribly wrong in my assessment of
him. NTR is a great man, as great a man as Abdul Kalam and as principled. And
his job was much more difficult than that of Abdul Kalam who never had the
problem of dealing with politician’s day in and day out.
Of course a few of you who had
seen JP’s interviews know about him but some you may not. So I am quoting from
his interviews here as well as NTR’s biography by Lakshmi Parvathi. I am not
bothered about politics but about this great man whom I have misjudged so
badly. I am ashamed that I am thus led astray.
1. NTR
was born into an affluent family at Nimmakooru. His grandfather Ramaswami
Choudhary owned 80 acres of land and his
family is one of the leading families in that village. He had 4 sons one of
which is Lakshmayya who is NTR’s father. Although NTR stayed with his own parents
,his father’s elder brother Ramayya adopted NTR. Now this man Ramayya is very
much interested in dramas and it is from him that NTR inherited his interest in
acting.
2. He
was raised till the age of about 10 in a doting manner and without any
hindrance. Unfortunately for NTR and his family when he was about 10 years old
one of his uncles asked for distribution of property and Ramaswami Choudhary
unwillingly complied. The families got split.
Each son got 20 acres of land. Now NTR’s father was over ambitious. He
took much more land on lease by taking loans and cultivated it. Unfortunately
for him the price of rice feel drastically during that period and finally he
had to sell away 18 acres of his land to clear his debts. This left them with
just 2 acres of land with which a family cannot survive.
3. Lakshmiah
was finding it difficult to make ends meet and on receiving a suggestion from
Ramiah the uncle who adopted NTR, his father moved to Vijayawada and purchased
2 buffaloes. He used to milk the buffaloes and sell the milk. NTR used to go
around on a 2nd hand cycle which his father purchased for
distributing the milk in Vijayawada. Slowly they made money on that and
purchased more buffaloes. When they made more money they thought of purchasing
2 and half acres from another uncle to whom they made the payment. That uncle
cheated them and never registered the land in their name and sold it to someone
else. Such is the background from which NTR comes. Thrown from an affluent
family into a poor family that found ends difficult to meet with life in
disarray. That explains why he is very strict with money and spends only what
he must.
4. He
was acting in dramas from the time in his village with the influence of his
uncle and is known for his acting abilities. NTR had great determination and when he
undertook a task nothing could stop him. One day he went on his bicycle to
another village to gather some goods which are heavy. Unluckily for him the bicycle
tyre lost air and he could not ride the bicycle. He could not find a pump in
that village but he knew that there was
an air pump in the next village, so he pushed the bicycle up to that
village only to find that person was not available. His home was 55 Km from the village he started. He
went up to the next village so he must have covered about 5 Km and has to cover
another 50 Km. Another guy in his place would have quit. Imagine pushing a
loaded bicycle for 50 Km. But not so for NTR he pushed the bicycle all the way
and reached home at 2 O clock in the morning and only then had food. Imagine
walking the village roads for 50 Km in the night. Apart from determination, what
guts the guy must have had.
5. Despite
the constraints he had NTR managed to complete his BA and then got selected as
a Sub Registrar in the Madras Presidency. And he lasted precisely 3 weeks in
his job which is considered a prime money spinner even today.
At the time the
convention was Sub Registrar had to put on a coat. NTR used to remove the coat
and hang it at the back of his chair. In one of those initial days when he
picked up his coat and put it on he found something in his pocket. He was
surprised as he did not keep anything there. He checked and found that it
contained money. He immediately called the peon who told him that is the
convention in the office and the money received is distributed in the evening.
NTR was horrified and threw out the money saying he does not want it.
Thereafter he was working like a fish out of water and finally he could not
bear it any longer, he decided to quit the job and join the movies. He resigned
the job within 3 weeks and went to Chennai for trying to get into the movies.
6. At
Madras he had a very tough time initially and for almost a year movie chances
did not come to him and there are many days when he had no money even to have
food. Yet it his persistent determination that saved him till he got a break.
7. This
is the profile of the man who was initially born with a silver spoon in his
mouth, which later deteriorated to no spoon at all. Yet what clearly stands out
is his idealism despite facing such an insecure childhood is his determination
and very clear-cut distinction of ideology. His poverty gave him the feel for
poor people and it is perhaps that which guided him into giving that Rs 2 per
Kg rice scheme. He enjoyed both affluence and poverty and knew what it was to
be left hungry.
8. I
would love to write more about the man but as it is I think it stretched too
long so I stop here. I will write another short note on his political exploits
and his ideology.
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