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Lakshmi’s NTR, a biopic on Telugu Desam Party (TDP) founder and actor N T Rama Rao, has hit the screens across India and the world, barring Andhra Pradesh.
Acting on a petition by TDP leaders, the Andhra Pradesh High Court has barred the screening till April 3 in the State, when the judges would watch the film to take a final call on its release. “The film is releasing today as scheduled all over world and Telangana, excepting Andhra Pradesh. We are moving Supreme Court to appeal against AP High Court order,” Ram Gopal Varma, the director of the film, has said.
The film has ruffled some features in the TDP, as Varma had hinted that the film captured the dramatic ouster of NT Rama Rao as the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh in 1995.
N Chandrababu Naidu, had then, gathered support of majority of TDP legislators, depleting NTR’s base and became the Chief Minister. NTR blamed Chandrababu for ‘backstabbing’ him and vowed to win back to power. He, however, passed away a few months later.
TDP is concerned that this film could revive the memories among the people and cast a shadow on its prospects in the upcoming elections. TDP leaders and followers approached the court and the Election Commission, appealing for postponement of the film’s release. They also speculate that their political opponent YSR Congress Party could use the film for their campaign against the TDP.
This is the second biopic on NTR’s life in a span of three months. NTR’s son Balakrishna produced (and donned his father’s role) a two-part biopic (Kathanayakudu and Mahanyakudu) a few months ago. Both the films tried to recap the main events of NTR’s life as an actor and politician. They, however, avoided the 1995 crisis. The films didn’t do well at the box office.
Simultaneously, Ram Gopal Varma announced his plans to make a biopic on NTR from the perspective of actor-politician’s second wife Lakshmi Parvati. He’d been quite vocal on social media and TV channels about the story line, throwing light on the behind-the-screen events.
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