Actor and producer · Telugu cinema
Nandamuri Balakrishna
Nandamuri Balakrishna movies: 109 Telugu films on file (109 as actor, 3 as producer), 1974–2026. Earliest on file: Tatamma Kala (1974). Latest release: Akhanda 2 (12 December 2025). Next: Dada (24 December 2026).
- Films on file
- 109 (109 as actor, 3 as producer)
- Years on file
- 1974–2026
- Born
- 10 June 1960 · June birthdays (Wikidata)
- Selected films on file
- Gautamiputra Satakarni, Daaku Maharaaj, Bhagavanth Kesari
- Record
- Q6963169 on Wikidata
Nandamuri Balakrishna, also known as Balayya and NBK, is an Indian actor, producer and politician who has worked in Telugu cinema for more than five decades. The son of the actor and former Chief Minister N. T. Rama Rao, he has starred in more than a hundred films, from Mangammagari Manavadu (1984) and Aditya 369 (1991) to Samarasimha Reddy (1999), Narasimha Naidu (2001), Legend (2014) and Akhanda (2021). The Government of India awarded him the Padma Bhushan in 2025 (Press Information Bureau).
He was born on 10 June 1960 in Madras (now Chennai) to N. T. Rama Rao and Basavatarakam, according to Wikipedia, citing IndiaGlitz; Wikidata gives the same date and place. He has a bachelor’s degree in commerce from Nizam College, Hyderabad.
Career
He made his debut at 14 as a child artist in Tatamma Kala (1974), directed by his father, and appeared in several of his father’s films, including Daana Veera Soora Karna (1977), where he played Abhimanyu, Akbar Salim Anarkali and Sri Tirupati Venkateswara Kalyanam. His first adult lead was Sahasame Jeevitham (1984), followed the same year by Kodi Ramakrishna’s Mangammagari Manavadu and K. Viswanath’s Janani Janmabhoomi.
From 1987 he became a mass-film star, with Apoorva Sahodarulu, Muvva Gopaludu, Muddula Mavayya (1989), Nari Nari Naduma Murari (1990) and Lorry Driver (1990). In Singeetam Srinivasa Rao’s science-fiction film Aditya 369 he played Krishnadevaraya; Rowdy Inspector (1992), Bangaru Bullodu (1993), the fantasy Bhairava Dweepam (1994) and Peddannayya (1997) followed. B. Gopal’s faction drama Narasimha Naidu became the highest-grossing Telugu film until then and won him his first Nandi Award for Best Actor; Chennakeshava Reddy (2002) came next.
After a run of films that did not perform well from 2005 to 2009, he played Krishna and Panduranga in K. Raghavendra Rao’s Pandurangadu (2008). Boyapati Srinu’s Simha (2010) was the year’s highest-grossing Telugu film. He played Rama in Sri Rama Rajyam (2011) and three generations in Adhinayakudu (2012). Legend was his second film with Boyapati, and Krish’s Gautamiputra Satakarni (2017) was his 100th film. He played his father in the two-part biopic N.T.R: Kathanayakudu and N.T.R: Mahanayakudu (2019).
His third film with Boyapati, Akhanda, in which he played an Aghori and a farmer, was a major hit. Since then he has starred in Veera Simha Reddy and Bhagavanth Kesari (2023), Daaku Maharaaj (2025) and Akhanda 2 (2025).
In politics, he has campaigned for the Telugu Desam Party since it was founded and has represented Hindupur in the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly since 2014 (News18), a seat once held by his father and his brother Nandamuri Harikrishna. He chairs the Basavatarakam Indo-American Cancer Hospital and Research Institute.
Awards
- Padma Bhushan, 2025.
- Nandi Award for Best Actor for Narasimha Naidu, Simha and Legend (Wikipedia winners list; Andhra Pradesh government list).
- SIIMA Award for Best Actor – Telugu for Legend (Wikipedia winners list).
- Special Recognition for Contribution to Bharatiya Cinema at the 56th IFFI (2025), and the NTR National Award (2024), per Wikipedia.
Upcoming films
- Dada: on our records for release on 24 December 2026.
See all of Nandamuri Balakrishna’s upcoming movies as dates are announced.
Where to watch his films
- Akhanda 2: Netflix, from 9 January 2026, per Wikipedia (OTT details)
- Daaku Maharaaj: Netflix, from 21 February 2025, per Wikipedia (OTT details)
- Bhagavanth Kesari: Prime Video, from 24 November 2023, per Wikipedia (OTT details)
- Veera Simha Reddy: JioHotstar, from 23 February 2023, per Wikipedia (OTT details)
- Akhanda: Disney+ Hotstar, from 21 January 2022, per Wikipedia (OTT details)
- N.T.R: Kathanayakudu: Prime Video, from 8 February 2019, per Wikipedia (OTT details); N.T.R: Mahanayakudu: Prime Video catalogue (OTT details)
- Simha and Devudu: Aha, per the platform listing
- Aditya 369: Aha, per the platform listing (OTT details)
Catalogues change; check the platform before you plan to watch.
Personal life
He married Vasundhara Devi in 1982, at the age of 22, according to Wikipedia, citing the Sakshi Post. They have three children.
Sources: Wikipedia and the references it cites (linked above), Wikidata, and Tollywood Desk’s film, release and OTT records.
Career on file
Nandamuri Balakrishna has 109 Telugu films on file at Tollywood Desk, dated from 1974 to 2026: 109 films as actor and three films as producer. The earliest of them is Tatamma Kala (1974), and the most recent release is Akhanda 2 (2025). One more film, Dada (2026), is dated for later. Measured by how many Wikipedia language editions cover them, the best-known titles here are Gautamiputra Satakarni (2017), Daaku Maharaaj (2025) and Bhagavanth Kesari (2023). Other recent releases on file are Veera Simha Reddy (2023), Akhanda (2021) and N.T.R: Mahanayakudu (2019).
Kaikala Satyanarayana is the most frequent co-star, sharing 27 films with Nandamuri Balakrishna, followed by Brahmanandam (26) and Vijayashanti (17). Among directors, A. Kodandarami Reddy cast Nandamuri Balakrishna most often, in 12 films; next are N. T. Rama Rao (7) and K. Raghavendra Rao (7). Music on 31 of them is by K. Chakravarthy, with Mani Sharma (13) and Koti (9) next. Ramakrishna Cine Studios produced 11 of them, more than any other banner on file. Across these films the credits on file name 52 different directors, 26 music directors and 160 other credited actors.
Runtime is on file for 105 of them; they average 148 minutes, and the longest is Daana Veera Soora Karna at 227 minutes. 11 of them have a streaming (OTT) release noted on the site. By decade the list splits into 1970s (8), 1980s (40), 1990s (26), 2000s (15), 2010s (14) and 2020s (6). 1987 is the busiest single year, with eight films.
Figures come from the films on file at Tollywood Desk and change as records are added.
Upcoming movies (1)
Nandamuri Balakrishna upcoming movies · All upcoming Telugu movies · Dates are those on record and can change.