Rajinikanth heaps praise on Balakrishna at Sr NTR's birth anniversary event

Superstar Rajinikanth was recently in Vijayawada to attend 100th birth anniversary celebrations of legendary actor-politician Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao. The event was hosted by his son and actor Nandamuri Balakrishna. Rajinikanth was invited as one of the chief guests at the celebrations. 

During his speech, the Kaala actor heaped praise on Balakrishna. Rajinikanth said, "My friend (Balayya) kills with his single look. With a single eye blink, a vehicle can blast and go up to 30 feet high. It cannot be done by Rajinikanth or Amitabh (Bachchan). The public won’t accept it if we do that kind of stuff. If Balayya does that, the audience will accept it. The Telugu audience doesn’t see him as Balayya, they see late NTR in Balayya. He is a kind-hearted person. I pray to God that he will serve more in films and politics." 

Rajinikanth further went on to talk about Sr NTR and the inspiration he got from him. He claimed that NTR's Lava Kusa had a significant influence on him, leading him to enroll at the Madras Institute to pursue acting. He also mentioned how NTR's portrayal of Duryodhana in Sri Krishna Pandaveeyam enthralled him and his friends to the point where they began viewing the movie over and over to learn Telugu.

Rajinikath's and Nandamuri Balakrishna's upcoming films

On the work front, Nandamuri Balakrishna’s last silver screen appearance was in Veera Simha Reddy. He played a double role in it, that of the father and the son. He is currently filming for NBK 108, directed by Anil Ravipudi. He will appear on screen alongside Kajal Aggarwal and Sreeleela in this movie. For his future projects, he is currently in discussions with director Boyapati Srinu. Official announcement is awaited on this project. 

Rajnikanth, on the other hand, will be seen in Jailer next. Directed by Nelson Dilipkumar, the film also stars Tamannaah Bhatia, Ramya Krishnan, Mohanlal, Shiva Rajkumar, Jackie Shroff, Sunil and others. Rajinikanth has also signed on to do a film with Jai Bhim director TJ Gnanavel.