''Lakshmi's NTR'' is a 2019 Indian

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of South India ** Telugu literature, is the body of works written in the Telugu language. * Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Tel ...

-language

biographical A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or curric ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

based on the life of former film actor and chief minister of undivided

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...

N. T. Rama Rao Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao (28 May 1923 – 18 January 1996), often referred to by his initials NTR, was an Indian actor, film director, film producer, screenwriter, film editor, philanthropist, and politician who served as the Chief Minister o ...

from the perspective of his second wife, Lakshmi Parvati as well as Rao during his last days. It is co-directed by

Ram Gopal Varma Penmetsa Ram Gopal Varma (born 7 April 1962), often referred to by his initials RGV, is an Indian film director, screenwriter and producer, primarily known for his work in Hindi cinema, Hindi and Telugu cinema, Telugu films.** * * Varma has dir ...

, and Agasthya Manju.

Cast

* P Vijay Kumar as

Yagna Shetty Yagna Shetty is an Indian actress known for her work in Kannada cinema. She made her debut in the 2007 film ''Ondu Preethiya Kathe'', following which she appeared in ''Eddelu Manjunatha'', a performance that won her a Filmfare Special Award. Sh ...

Lakshmi Parvathi Lakshmi Parvathi (born 14 September 1955) is an Indian politician from the state of Andhra Pradesh and widow of N. T. Rama Rao. She was previously married to a harikatha artist Veeragandham Venkata Subba Rao. Later, she was separated from him a ...

Sritej Sritej is an Indian actor who works in Telugu-language films. He came into limelight with the 2019 film '' Lakshmi's NTR'' directed by Ram Gopal Varma where he essayed the role of Nara Chandrababu Naidu. He was also cast in Nandamuri Balakrishna ...

Nara Chandrababu Naidu Nara Chandrababu Naidu (; born 20 April 1950), commonly known as CBN, is an Indian politician who is currently serving as the 13th Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh. He holds the record of longest-serving Chief Minister in the political history ...

* Aningi Rajasekhar as Rama Subba Reddy *Vj Balu as

Balakrishna Bala Krishna (). Present day Krishna worship is an amalgam of various elements. According to historical testimonies Krishna-Vasudeva worship already flourished in and around Mathura several centuries before Christ. A second important element is ...

* Swarnakanth as Devineni Nehru

Production

On 4 July 2017, RGV announced through his YouTube channel that he would be directing NTR's biopic with the title ''RGV's NTR'', in which

Nandamuri Balakrishna Nandamuri Balakrishna (born 10 June 1960), also known as Balayya or NBK, is an Indian actor, film producer, politician and philanthropist known for his works in Telugu cinema. Balakrishna is an elected member of the Andhra Pradesh Legislative A ...

was to act. Due to differences they both did two different movies on NTR. The film's title was later changed to ''Lakshmi's NTR''.

Casting

After various speculation and rumours as to who would be cast in the lead roles, it was revealed that P Vijay Kumar as N. T. Rama Rao, Sritej as Nara Chandrababu Naidu and Yagna Shetty as Lakshmi Parvathi would reprise their roles.

Soundtrack

Music is composed by

Kalyani Malik Kalyan Malik is an Indian music director and playback singer in Telugu cinema. Since achieving recognition through Chandra Sekhar Yeleti's film ''Aithe'' (2003), Malik has provided musical scores for many other films. His most recent works are ...

and released on Mango Music label.

Release

Initially it was scheduled to release on 22 March 2019. There are many political pressures on Election Commission and Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) to stop the release of the movie in the mode of the conduct basis. As RGV fought back against the EC and CBFC, the petitions against the release of the movie were filed in the Telangana High Court. The HC after a thorough inquiry, directed that every individual has the right to express his feelings so the release of the movie cannot be stopped. Due to some Post production and Pre-release formalities it was rescheduled to release on 29 March 2019 in Telangana and on 1 June in Andhra Pradesh. 'Weekend Cinema' released the movie overseas.

Marketing

First track ‘Vennupotu’(Backstabbing) was released on 21 December 2018, which went on to make controversies. A case was filed by TDP MLA from Pithapuram S V S N Varma saying that it was aiming at Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh Nara Chandra Babu Naidu. So the High Court issued notices to censor board and producer of Lakshmi's NTR. The second track ‘Enduku’(Why?) was released on 8 January 2019, questioning why did NTR marry Lakshmi Parvathi. On 18 January 2019, A teaser was released which gives a brief glance into the characters. First official trailer was released on 14 February 2019, at 9:27 AM by Ram Gopal Varma on Valentine's Day signifying the love between NTR and Lakhsmi Parvathi.

Home media

After the release of the trailer, a big Telugu channel acquired the satellite rights for ₹3 Crore.

Reception

Critical reception

''Cinema Express'' gave 3 out of 5 stars stating "Lakshmi's NTR, which traverses the unexplored events that happened in the life of NTR, makes for an interesting watch". Firstpost gave 2.5 out of 5 stars stating "Lakshmi's NTR ends up being yet another drama from RGV's factory which doesn't pack a punch despite its inherent drama".

The Times of India ''The Times of India'' (''TOI'') is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by the Times Group. It is the List of newspapers in India by circulation, third-largest newspaper in India by circulation an ...

gave 2.5 out of 5 stars stating "Lakshmi's NTR does tell the story of an important and less talked about phase in the legendary actor-politician's life. But a good story doesn't always make for a good film". ''Sify'' gave 2.5 out of 5 stars stating "Lakshmi's NTR that focused on later life of legendary actor and politician late NT Rama Rao is fairly faithful to the political events of 1989 to 1996. While the film paints Chandrababu Naidu as a villain in NTR's life, it also goes extra length to show Lakshmi Parvathi as a woman sans blemishes. It is an okay political movie with slow narration".

The Indian Express ''The Indian Express'' is an English-language Indian daily newspaper founded in 1932 by P. Varadarajulu Naidu. It is headquartered in Noida, owned by the ''Indian Express Group''. It was later taken over by Ramnath Goenka. In 1999, eight y ...

gave 1 out of 5 stars stating "Ram Gopal Varma needs to cultivate new tricks of storytelling, should he ever aspire to make a decent film again".

References

External links

* {{Ram Gopal Varma, state=collapsed 2010s Indian films 2010s Telugu-language films Biographical films about politicians Cultural depictions of N. T. Rama Rao Films directed by Ram Gopal Varma Films about N. Chandrababu Naidu Films set in Andhra Pradesh Indian biographical films