N. T. Rama Rao Jr. filmography and awards
N. T. Rama Rao Jr., also referred as Jr. NTR, is an Indian actor, television presenter, and playback singer who works in Telugu films. Rama Rao first appeared as a child artiste in the film "Brahmarshi Vishwamitra", written, directed and starred by his grandfather N. T. Rama Rao in 1991. He went on to play the titular role as Rama in the 1997 mythological film "Ramayanam". Rama Rao made his debut as a lead actor in 2001 with the film "Ninnu Choodalani", which was a box office failure. He tasted his first  success in the same year with the S. S. Rajamouli's directorial debut, coming-of-age action film "Student No.1". Though "Subbu" which released in the same year could not impress the audience, his 2002 action film "Aadi" was a massive success. For the film, Rama Rao received Nandi Special Jury Award presented by the Government of Andhra Pradesh. The two next films "Allari Ramudu" and "Naaga" were back-to-back failures. His second collaboration with the director S. S. Rajamouli was the 2003 action film "Simhadri", which ended up as one of the biggest blockbusters of that year. In  the film, Rama Rao is seen as a kind-hearted man, Simhadri who has a violent past. In 2005, Rama Rao played a dual role for the first time film "Andhrawala" directed by Puri Jagannadh. The film could not reach the high expectations and bombed at the box office. "Samba" which released in the same year had a decent response but his subsequent films "Naa Alludu, Narasimhudu" and "Ashok" were a string of failures. In 2006, Rama Rao starred in the film "Rakhi", which is considered one of his finest performances. Though the film was an average grosser, his performance  in the role of innocent man-turned vigilante and climax sequence were praised particularly. In 2007, Rama Rao made his third collaboration with the director S. S. Rajamouli for the socio-fantasy film, "Yamadonga". For this film, the actor made a complete body transformation and shed extra kilos. The film was praised for its unique story and performances and became one of the biggest hits of that year. Rama Rao has won his first Filmfare Award as Best Actor – Telugu for the film. In 2010, Rama Rao featured in two films, "Adhurs" and "Brindavanam", both of the were successful ventures . Over the next few years, Rama Rao starred in several films, notably "Oosaravelli" and "Baadshah". His consequent films, "Ramayya Vasthavayya" and "Rabhasa" were box office failures which received lukewarm response both audience and his fans alike, for which Rama Rao was deeply disappointed and promised his fans to work harder. In 2015, Rama Rao made his second collaboration with the director Puri Jagannadh in the action film "Temper" which gave the actor a much needed comeback. In the film, he played a corrupt police officer, whose life changes after stumbling upon a rape case. In his landmark 25th film, Rama  Rao featured in the 2016 thriller - drama, "Nannaku Prematho" written and directed by Sukumar. The film explored emotional relationship between a father and his son spanning the last 30 days of the father's life. Despite being an average grosser domestically, the film performed exceedingly well in the overseas. In the same year, his film "Janatha Garage," directed by Koratala Siva and co-starred by Malayalam actor Mohanlal, became the highest-grossing Tollywood film of that year collecting nearly 140 crore. In 2017, Rama Rao played triple role for the first time in the action film "Jai Lava Kusa" which  also grossed more than 100 crores. In the same year, he featured as the host for the first season of the television series "Bigg Boss" . In 2018, the actor teamed up with the director Trivikram for the action drama film, "Aravinda Sametha Veera Raghava". In the film, Rama Rao played a young man who decides to put an end to the bloodshed between two warring villages. The film remains the biggest hit of his career, grossing more than 165 crore. In his fourth collaboration with the director S. S. Rajamouli, Rama Rao is set to play the role of the  Indian revolutionary, Komaram Bheem in the period action film titled "RRR." In 2021, Rama Rao returned to television as a host for the game show "Evaru Meelo Koteeswarulu", the Telugu version of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?".