Nandamuri Harikrishna (2 September 1956 – 29 August 2018) was an Indian actor, producer, and politician. He served as the

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

in the

Rajya Sabha The Rajya Sabha, constitutionally the Council of States, is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of India. , it has a maximum membership of 245, of which 233 are elected by the legislatures of the states and union territories using si ...

, the upper house the

Indian Parliament The Parliament of India ( IAST: ) is the supreme legislative body of the Republic of India. It is a bicameral legislature composed of the president of India and two houses: the Rajya Sabha (Council of States) and the Lok Sabha (House of the ...

representing the state of

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

from 2008 to 2013. His film works were predominantly in

Telugu cinema Telugu cinema, also known as Tollywood, is the segment of Indian cinema dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Telugu language, widely spoken in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Telugu cinema is based in Film Nagar, Hy ...

. Harikrishna was the fourth son of actor and former

chief minister of Andhra Pradesh The chief minister of Andhra Pradesh is the chief executive of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. In accordance with the Constitution of India, the governor is a state's ''de jure'' head, but ''de facto'' executive authority rests with the chi ...

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, filmmaker and politician who served as Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh for seven years over three terms. He starred ...

. His sons

N. T. Rama Rao Jr. Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao Jr. (born 20 May 1983), also known as Jr. N.T.R. or Tarak, is an Indian actor who primarily works in Telugu cinema. One of the highest paid Telugu film actors, Rama Rao Jr. has won several accolades, including two Fil ...

and

Nandamuri Kalyan Ram Nandamuri Kalyan Ram (born 5 July 1978) is an Indian actor and film producer who works in Telugu cinema. He is the son of actor-politician Nandamuri Harikrishna. Ram is best known for his roles in action films such as ''Athanokkade'', ''Hare Ram ...

are also actors.

Early life

Harikrishna was born on 2 September 1956 in

Nimmakuru Nimmakuru is a village in Krishna district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is located in Pamarru, Krishna district, Pamarru mandal of Gudivada revenue division. It is the birth place of former and the first non-Congress Chief minister ...

village of

Krishna district Krishna district is district in the coastal Andhra Region in Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, with Machilipatnam as its administrative headquarters. It is the coastal district of Andhra Pradesh. Machilipatnam is the most populated city in the di ...

in present-day

and Basava Ramatarakam. He has eleven siblings; seven brothers and four sisters.

Acting career

Harikrishna made his acting debut in 1964 as a child artist in ''

Sri Krishnavataram ''Sri Krishnavataram'' is a 1967 Telugu language, Telugu-language Hindu mythological film directed by Kamalakara Kameswara Rao. It stars N. T. Rama Rao, Devika and Kanchana (actress), Kanchana, with music composed by T. V. Raju. The film was pro ...

'', in which he played Krishna. It was directed by

Kamalakara Kameshwara Rao Kamalakara Kameswara Rao (14 October 1911 – 29 June 1998) was an Indian film director known for his works predominantly in Telugu cinema, and a few Tamil and Hindi films. Widely known as ''Pauranika Chitra Brahma'' (), Kameswara Rao directed fi ...

. He then starred in ''

Thalla? Pellama? ''Thalla? Pellama?'' () is a 1970 Indian Telugu-language drama film directed by N. T. Rama Rao. It stars N. T. Rama Rao, Chandrakala and Master Harikrishna, with music composed by T. V. Raju. It is produced by N. Trivikrama Rao under the NA ...

'' (1970), followed by ''

Tatamma Kala ''Tatamma Kala'' ( Great-Grandmother's Dream) is a 1974 Telugu-language drama film, produced by Bhanumathi Ramakrishna directed by N. T. Rama Rao under his Ramakrishna Cine Studios banner. The film stars N. T. Rama Rao, Bhanumathi Ramakrishna, d ...

'' (1974), ''

Ram Raheem ''Ram Raheem'' is a 1974 Indian Telugu-language drama film, produced by K. R. V. Prasad Rao under the Raja Lakshmi Combines banner and directed by B. A. Subba Rao. It stars Nandamuri Balakrishna, Nandamuri Harikrishna and music composed by S. ...

'' (1974), and ''

Daana Veera Shura Karna ''Daana Veera Soora Karna'' () is a 1977 Indian Telugu-language Hindu mythological film co-written, produced and directed by N. T. Rama Rao under his banner, Ramakrishna Cine Studios. Based on the life of Karna from the ''Mahabharata'' ...

'' (1977). After a long sabbatical, and political stint he starred as a Character actor in works such as ''

Sri Ramulayya ''Sri Ramulayya'' is a 1999 Telugu language, Telugu-language biographical film, based on the life of Paritala Sriramulu, father of politician Paritala Ravindra, directed by N. Shankar. The film won two Nandi Awards. Cast * Mohan Babu * Nandamu ...

'' (1998), followed by a full-length role alongside Nagarjuna in ''

Seetharama Raju ''Seetharama Raju'' is a 1999 Indian Telugu-language action drama film, produced jointly by Nagarjuna Akkineni, D. Sivaprasad Reddy under the Great India Enterprises & Kamakshi Movies banner and directed by Y. V. S. Chowdary. It stars Nandam ...

'' (1999), ''

Lahiri Lahiri Lahirilo ''Lahiri Lahiri Lahirilo ''is a 2002 Indian Telugu-language musical-family drama film written, directed and produced by YVS Chowdary under the banner ''Bommarillu.'' The film stars four pairs Nandamuri Harikrishna, Bhanupriya, Suman, Rachana, ...

'' (2002), and ''

Seetayya ''Seetayya'' is a 2003 Indian Telugu-language action drama film directed by Y. V. S. Chowdary and written by Posani Krishna Murali. It stars late Nandamuri Harikrishna son of late Nandamuri Taraka Ramarao as lead actor and late Soundarya, Simr ...

'' (2003). In 2002, he received Nandi Award for Best Character Actor for his work in ''

'' (2002).

Political career

Harikrishna served as the member of Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly during 1996–1999. He became a Cabinet Minister for Road Transport in 1996. In 2008, he was a candidate of the

Telugu Desam Party The Telugu Desam Party (; TDP) is an Indian regional political party operating in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana at the state and central level. Since its founding by N. T. Rama Rao (often referred to as NTR) on 29 March 1982, the party has foc ...

and was elected to

Personal life

Jr ntr with father Hari krishna at jai lava kusha event

Harikrishna married Lakshmi Kumari on 22 February 1973 and they have two sons, Janaki Ram and

Kalyan Ram Nandamuri Kalyan Ram (born 5 July 1978) is an Indian actor and film producer who works in Telugu cinema. He is the son of actor-politician Nandamuri Harikrishna. Ram is best known for his roles in action films such as ''Athanokkade'', ''Hare Ram ...

, and a daughter, Suhasini. He has a third son,

, with Shalini, a Kannadiga from

Kundapur Kundapur, also called Kundapura, is a coastal town situated in the Udupi district of the state of Karnataka, India. This town was known as Coondapoor while it was part of the erstwhile South Canara district (1862–1947) of the Madras Pre ...

. Janaki Ram died in a road mishap, on 6 December 2014.

Death

Harikrishna died in a car crash in Nalgonda district, Narketpalli on 29 August 2018 at the age of 61. He was driving without a seat belt on his way to the Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh to attend a ceremony of his friend. His

Toyota Fortuner The Toyota Fortuner, also known as the Toyota SW4, is a mid-size SUV manufactured by the Japanese automaker Toyota since 2004. Built on the Hilux pickup truck platform, it features two/three rows of seats and is available in either rear-wheel d ...

crashed into a

road median The median strip, central reservation, roadway median, or traffic median is the reserved area that separates opposing lanes of traffic on divided roadways such as divided highways, dual carriageways, freeways, and motorways. The term also a ...

Nalgonda district Nalgonda district is a district in the Telangana state of India. Nalgonda district has the highest number of mandals in the state with 31 mandals. The district shares boundaries with Suryapet, Rangareddy, Yadadri and Nagarkurnool districts ...

Highway near Narkatpally when he bent over to pick up a water bottle. His son Janaki Ram died on the same highway in 2014. Nandamuri Janakiram was a Telugu movie producer under the NTR arts banner who also met a tragic death in a road crash while travelling alone from Vijayawada to Hyderabad. Reports say that, his car collided with a tractor near Akumpamala village in Munagala mandal of Nalagonda district. He was rushed to a private hospital in Kodad, where he died.

Filmography

Awards

* He won

Nandi Award for Best Character Actor The '' S. V. Ranga Rao'' Nandi Award for Best Character Actor winners since 1995: Winners References {{DEFAULTSORT:Nandi Award For Best Character Actor Character Actor A character actor is a supporting actor who plays unusual, interes ...

(2002)(in

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode S ...

)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Harikrishna, Nandamuri 1956 births 2018 deaths Telugu politicians Indian male child actors Rajya Sabha members from Andhra Pradesh Indian male film actors People from Krishna district 20th-century Indian male actors Nandi Award winners Telugu Desam Party politicians Telugu male actors Indian actor-politicians Road incident deaths in India