A few days before the commencement of the three-day Mahanadu, the biennial conclave of the Telugu Desam Party held in Kadapa, there was talk that the entire Nandamuri family would attend the event on May 28 — the second day — coinciding with the birth anniversary of TDP founder and former chief minister N T Rama Rao.
The expectation stemmed from the fact that this was the first Mahanadu following NTR’s birth centenary, and reports suggested that the TDP planned to felicitate members of NTR’s family, who were expected to pay collective tribute.
There were even reports that Junior NTR and Kalyan Ram would be invited to participate in the event.
Another resolution was also expected to be passed during Mahanadu, requesting the Centre to confer the Bharat Ratna — the country’s highest civilian honour — on NTR.
However, not a single member of the Nandamuri family was present at Mahanadu, which was also the first to be held since the TDP returned to power in the bifurcated Andhra Pradesh.
Naturally, their absence sparked discussion. Forget Jr NTR and Kalyan Ram — even NTR’s sons, including Ramakrishna and Chaitanya Krishna, were nowhere to be seen, leading to widespread speculation among fans about the reasons behind their absence.
More surprising was the absence of Nandamuri Balakrishna, NTR’s youngest son, a popular actor, TDP MLA from Hindupur, and politburo member. Balakrishna, who typically never misses a Mahanadu, was conspicuously absent this time.
There were no pictures or videos of Balakrishna paying tribute to his father on his birth anniversary — neither at NTR Ghat nor elsewhere. This fueled speculation that he may be out of the country, preventing him from attending the Mahanadu or the commemorative events.
Sources confirmed that Balakrishna had traveled to Georgia for the shooting of Akhanda 2. The film’s team is currently stationed there, and Balakrishna reportedly paid tribute to NTR during the overseas schedule.
A social media post noted: “Balakrishna will return from Georgia on June 6. Apart from the 10-day schedule currently underway, the action sequences have been completed. A 30-day talkie schedule and the shooting of three songs remain, which will begin in July. As per the current timeline, the entire shoot will wrap up by the first week of September.”
