Compared to the northern belt, the love for movies and movie stars is massive in the Southern region. This is the reason why the number of film stars venturing into politics is quite high. Not just foraying into the political spectrum, a few leaders even went on to take up the supreme post in the state, the Chief Minister post.
Legendary thespian Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao who still has a special place in the hearts of people is one of the rare film stars who had shined in films and politics as well. After ruling the industry for more than three decades, he quit films and made his way into politics.
NTR's big dream of becoming the Chief Minister of combined Andhra Pradesh became a reality through his outfit Telugu Desam Party, which was started to protect the self-respect of the Telugu people. He had extensively campaigned across the state and his god-like status helped him in getting the public mandate.
Touring across the state was not a simple task given the availability of fewer facilities. Then 'Chaitanya Ratham' came into the picture which played its part in the campaign. The Chaitanya Ratham is a Chevrolet van that was modified to facilitate NTR to tour the state.
To give an insight into the key role played by Chaitanya Ratham, it helped NTR travel as many as more than 75,000 kilometres. The ratham had passed through almost every main road in the combined state, in the combined Andhra Pradesh.
Keeping in simple words, Chaitanya Ratham is as popular as the Telugu Desam Party is. The iconic vehicle used to lie in the NTR's house compound after he became the Chief Minister of the state.
Looking into the facilities that were added in the Chaitanya Ratham, special seats were fitted inside the van for better facility and the van also has a long sofa for meetings.
It is more like a caravan of those days as it has the facilities like a sofa, toilet and a small place to rest. On top of all these, the Chaitanya Ratham also has steps from inside so that NTR can reach the top of the vehicle to address the gathering. We can find pictures of NTR addressing people from the top of Chaitanya Ratham. The iconic van is now lying at the Ramakrishna studious at Nacharam.
Legendary thespian Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao who still has a special place in the hearts of people is one of the rare film stars who had shined in films and politics as well. After ruling the industry for more than three decades, he quit films and made his way into politics.
NTR's big dream of becoming the Chief Minister of combined Andhra Pradesh became a reality through his outfit Telugu Desam Party, which was started to protect the self-respect of the Telugu people. He had extensively campaigned across the state and his god-like status helped him in getting the public mandate.
Touring across the state was not a simple task given the availability of fewer facilities. Then 'Chaitanya Ratham' came into the picture which played its part in the campaign. The Chaitanya Ratham is a Chevrolet van that was modified to facilitate NTR to tour the state.
To give an insight into the key role played by Chaitanya Ratham, it helped NTR travel as many as more than 75,000 kilometres. The ratham had passed through almost every main road in the combined state, in the combined Andhra Pradesh.
Keeping in simple words, Chaitanya Ratham is as popular as the Telugu Desam Party is. The iconic vehicle used to lie in the NTR's house compound after he became the Chief Minister of the state.
Looking into the facilities that were added in the Chaitanya Ratham, special seats were fitted inside the van for better facility and the van also has a long sofa for meetings.
It is more like a caravan of those days as it has the facilities like a sofa, toilet and a small place to rest. On top of all these, the Chaitanya Ratham also has steps from inside so that NTR can reach the top of the vehicle to address the gathering. We can find pictures of NTR addressing people from the top of Chaitanya Ratham. The iconic van is now lying at the Ramakrishna studious at Nacharam.