Nandamuri Balakrishna: Top 5 performances of the actor

In 1984, with the release of ‘Sahasame Jeevitham’, a promising young actor Nandamuri Balakrishna, made his film debut alongside Vijji. Essaying the role of a middle-class college student who falls deeply in love with his college mate, Balakrishna proved that he had what it took to be a star. And rightly so, he made his mark in the industry and earned a huge fan-following over the years. It’s been more than 35 years and he is still roaring with his noteworthy performances.

Thanks to his versatility and charisma, Balayya has become one of Tollywood’s biggest stars. Let’s take a look at some of his impeccable performances.

'Aditya 369', the film based on a concept of time travel is considered a cult classic. Nandamuri Balakrishna, who played the roles of Srikrishnadevaraya and Krishna Kumar (Dual role) in Singeetam Srinivasa Rao’s film, impressed everyone with his acting chops. After his thrilling performance in the sci-fi film, Balayya established himself as one of the A-list actors to watch out for. Apart from the wonderful story, Ilayaraja lent his masterstroke to the soundtrack.

Directed by Singeetam Srinivasa Rao, ‘Bhairava Dweepam’ is a fantasy drama starring Nandamuri Balakrishna and Roja, while also featuring Rambha in a special song. The actor essayed the character of a young warrior Vijay with utmost honesty. The mythological fantasy drama gave Balayya his most comprehensive, explosive and rewarding performance to date. It was the first time that he donned a warrior's armour, but that was many of his firsts in the film. ‘Bhairava Dweepam’ is just one of the three films Balakrishna collaborated with Singeetam.

Balakrishna played a factionist Samarasimha Reddy in 'Samarasimha Reddy', also starring Simran, Anjala Zhaveri and Sanghavi. The action drama directed by B Gopal won many accolades and smashed many box office records along with a 100-day run at 104 centres. Although Balayya’s performance was extraordinary, he got his due recognition years later.

In director by B Gopal's ‘Narasimha Naidu’, Balakrishna played the role of a brave village guy, who sacrifices his life to protect his village from evil forces. Balayya’s performance in the film earned him the Nandi Award for Best Actor. It remains one of the most beloved roles in his career. He shared the screen with Simran and Preeti Jhangiani in this successful venture.

Balakrishna delivered another standout performance as a young business tycoon Krishna and a village head Jaidev (dual role), slick with sleaze and puffed-up with lots of heroism in the action drama 'Legend'. He earned several awards for his performance in the film. This was Balayya's second collaboration with Boyapati Srinu film after ‘Simha’