Nandamuri Balakrishna, popularly referred to by his fans as ‘Balayya’, is one of the four veteran stars of Telugu cinema, along with Chiranjeevi, Venkatesh, and Nagarjuna. He has always had a strong rivalry with ‘Mega Star’ Chiranjeevi but has never really surpassed him in terms of stardom. In fact, he went through a long setback, facing multiple box-office bombs continuously.
However, he turned the tables down with his terrific script selection and planning. Akhanda (2021), Balayya’s third collaboration with Boyapati Srinu, marked the beginning of his comeback into commercial films. This was followed by Veera Simha Reddy and Bhagavath Kesari, two back-to-back INR 100 crore grossers in the same year. Coincidentally, this was also the phase when Chiranjeei faced a setback with multiple disasters such as Acharya (2022) and Bhola Shankar (2023). In other words, Balayya has finally shown his supremacy over his historic rival, Chiranjeevi. In addition to this, he was also part of Unstoppable, a talk show by Aha, which was also a huge success.
Most recently, a glimpse of his next venture, #NBK109, was released on the eve of Maha Shivarathri. Directed by Bobby Kolli, the teaser showcased a different avatar of Balayya that has mesmerised not just fans but also cinephiles in general.