Balakrishna talks about NTR's transition

New York, July 15 (IANS) Top Telugu actor Nandamuri Balakrishna says the way his father N.T. Rama Rao identified himself with the poor and downtrodden in the movies helped him to become a better politician.

Talking about his father's transition, Balakrishna said: 'When my father played roles of the poor and downtrodden, he immersed himself in the roles, thus understanding their plight. Later as a politician, he could successfully reach out to people, say the victims of floods and droughts.'

Balakrishna, 47, who was in the US for a Telugu meet, told IANS that he also likes playing emotional roles like his father and he wants to get more involved in the trust run in NTR's name.

Last month, Balakrishna's daughter was engaged to the son of former Andhra Pradesh chief minister and TDP leader N. Chandrababu Naidu's son.

Balakrishna was in New York Thursday to attend a reception given in honour of his sister D. Purandeswari, the minister of state for human resource development. The function was organised by prominent Long Island NRIs.

Balakrishna and Purandeswari were returning from a Telugu conference organised by TANA (Telugu Association of North America) in Washington.

At the conference held July 5-7, Balakrishna directed and played the lead role in a play about the plight of Telugu language. Called Balayya by his fans, he was widely cheered by thousands of Andhraites at the conference.