NTR biopic casting official update: Vidya Balan to play NTR's wife Basavatarakam

The biopic of legendary Telugu actor and politician NT Rama Rao has generated quite the buzz ever since it was announced. Now, Bollywood actress Vidya Balan will be playing the role of the late legendary actor's wife Basavatarakam in the upcoming biopic. Nandamuri Balakrishna, NTR's son will be playing the lead in the movie.

Fans and movie-goers have been curiously waiting to know about the female lead who would play NTR's wife, ever since news of the NTR biopic surfaced. Several names were doing rounds and Vidya Balan was the top contender among them. We had earlier reported that the makers had approached the Bollywood actress with the offer. She was impressed with the role and had given her nod to act in the movie.

Now, we hear that Vidya Balan has signed the dotted line for NTR's biopic.

Indian film critic and journalist, Taran Adarsh tweeted the news:

IT'S OFFICIAL... Vidya Balan in #NTR biopic... She enacts the part of NTR's wife Basavatarakam... NTR's son Balakrishna enacts the role of NTR... Directed by Krish... Produced by Balakrishna, Sai Korrapati and Vishnu Vardhan Induri [co-producing #1983Biopic in Hindi]. #NTRBiopic."

Initially, Ram Gopal Varma was roped in to direct the biographical movie, but he was dropped from the project after Balakrishna disliked his script. Later, director Teja was brought on board, though he too was let go from the project after six months, for reasons unknown.

Now, Krish aka Radha Krishna Jagarlamudi is directing this much-discussed movie, which is made in Telugu and Hindi.

The biopic of NTR was to go on floor in January 2018, soon after Balakrishna's Jai Simha hit the screens. But the slow process of selecting its cast and crew caused a delay. The makers are yet to kickstart the shoot, as they are reportedly still busy with the movie's pre-production.

The latest we hear is that the regular shooting of NTR biopic will begin on July 5. The makers have reportedly erected big sets in Ramoji Film City, RK and Saradhi studios, where most of the movie will be shot. Balakrishna will be continuously on the shoot with small breaks after the completion of each schedule.

Balakrishna is producing NTR biopic jointly with Sai Korrapati and Vishnu Indukuri. The producers had earlier announced that his biographical movie would be released in theatres during Sankranti 2019. But the movie may not make it in time to the festival, owing to the scale of the project and the delays in the pre-production and shooting.