Nandamuri Balakrishna
A Telugu film star with a career of five decades who chairs Hyderabad's Basavatarakam cancer hospital, honoured with the Padma Bhushan in 2025.
Nandamuri Balakrishna has been a leading star of Telugu cinema for decades, and also chairs a cancer hospital for the poor. In 2025 he was named for the Padma Bhushan in the field of art, from Andhra Pradesh [1].
Fifty years in films
Balakrishna was born on 10 June 1960, the fifth son of the actor and former Andhra Pradesh chief minister N.T. Rama Rao [2]. He made his film debut at 14, in Tatamma Kala (1974), and his career has now spanned more than fifty years [2].
Like his father, he has acted in every kind of Telugu film: mythological, historical, folklore and social. His roles have ranged from Rama, Krishna and Arjuna to historical figures such as Krishnadevaraya and Gautamiputra Satakarni [2]. He has won the Andhra Pradesh government’s best actor award three times [2].
Cancer care and public life
Since 2010 he has chaired the Basavatarakam Indo-American Cancer Hospital and Research Institute in Hyderabad, extending its care to people who cannot afford costly cancer treatment [2].
He has been elected three times as MLA from Hindupur. The citation credits his work there with the restoration of the Lepakshi temple, better drinking water and an upgraded town hospital [2].
Sources
- [1] Padma Awards 2025: list of awardees — Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. Accessed 11 October 2026.
- [2] Padma Awards 2025: citation for Nandamuri Balakrishna — Padma Awards, Government of India. Accessed 11 October 2026.
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