Starting as a child actor, N. Harikrishna had an on and off relationship with movies despite being the son of legendary actor N.T. Rama Rao. “It was his appearance as a young Lord Krishna in Sri Krishnavataram that caught masses’ attention. He then made way for Balakrishna, his younger brother, to hog the limelight and carry on the baton of star-actor from his legendary father NTR,” says Sridhar Sattiraju, a cinephile and banker.
Harikrishna had a baritone, regal presence and aquiline nose of his father. Acting in over dozen movies, he made his mark by scooping up a Nandi Award for playing a family patriarch in Lahiri Lahiri Lo . In Daana Veera Soora Karna (1977), where he played Arjuna, his screen presence and dialogues were limited, but the audience came away impressed and the striking similarity he shared with his father who essayed three roles. But Harikrishna dropped off the radar of Telugu cinema viewers as he began producing movies and managing finances of movies under his family’s banner. His film career took a turn in 2002 with his role as an elder brother in Sita Rama Raju with Akinneni Nagarjuna.
“His second innings which began in 1999 reached its peak in 2003 with Sitayya where a middle-aged, unconventional-for-hero-looking man is serenaded by Simran. That became a hit too but after that lack of good scripts made Harikrishna fold up too soon,” says Mr. Sattiraju.
His cinematic legacy is being carried on by his sons Kalyan Ram and NTR (Jr).
