He is a fleeting memory now, though in the second half of the 1980s, the political novice played a key role in bringing together opposition parties – Left Front in West Bengal led by Jyoti Basu, AIADMK of M.G. NTR’s political career was short and dramatic it lasted for a mere 14 years. He lost power in 1989 in the state assembly elections. They derided him even as he won elections with massive majorities in 1983, 19. NTR was neither liked nor respected by the intelligentsia. Though opposed to Brahmin-dominated cultural and social traditions, he was wedded to an antiquated Telugu culture which he expressed through his theatrical speeches. Maverick Messiah: A Political Biography of N.T. In the pre-turban days, he offered namaz with a group of Muslims in his saffron attire. As part of his quirky behaviour, for a while he wore a saffron dhoti and kurta, and for an even shorter period he wore turban in the manner of Swami Vivekananda. He did not respect ideological dividing lines.

The intelligentsia in the state hated the Congress but was not happy with the emergence of the NTR, because they hated his arrogance, his rustic but dignified mannerisms, and his refusal to play by the norms of the game. And Ramesh pinpoints what this meant: “The Congress in power meant the Reddys in power”, and the Telugu Desam Party was dubbed a Kamma party because NTR was a Kamma. “One joined the Communists, and the other the Congress,” Srinivas had said. Srinivas, who observes that the Kammas and Reddys fell apart after the Brahmins were pushed out of power in the 1930s. To explain NTR’s arrival on the political scene, he explains the social background of Andhra politics, especially the role of the Kamma and Reddy communities. But his focus is definitely on NTR’s politics. Kandula starts off by briefly explaining NTR’s film career, which serves as a background but cannot explain NTR’s political success. Rama Rao – partly as an admirer but more as a journalist with the moral imperative of telling the hero’s story, warts and all.

Rama Rao (popularly known as NTR) – Maverick Messiah: A Political Biography of N.T. Ramesh Kandula, a journalist who worked with Telugu and English newspapers in Hyderabad, has written biography of N.T.

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