Happy Birthday Jr NTR: Top 5 performances of the actor that put Telugu cinema on the global map

Donning various hats successfully, Jr NTR is a multifaceted superstar. With a career spanning over two decades, the young tiger ushered an era of his own in Telugu cinema and he now awaits the release of SS Rajamouli's upcoming pan-India historical drama titled, RRR. On the occasion of the superstar's birthday, we bring you the top five movies of the actor that put Telugu cinema on the world map.

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Directed by VV Vinayak, Aadi is an action drama that hit the screens in 2002 and went on to be remade in Tamil titled Jai and in Bengali as Surya. The enormous success and critical acclaim that the film garnered marked a turning point in the career trajectory of the superstar. He is seen essaying the role of Aadi Keshava Reddy, a fun-loving and angry young man, who learns the truth about his parents' murder. The film centres around Aadi, who is raised by his father's faithful employee, learn about how his parents were cheated and killed by Nagi Reddy. Enraged by the injustice done to his family, he decides to confront Nagi.

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Jr NTR is seen essaying the role of an orphan, generous and good-natured guy in Simhadri. It is an action drama directed by SS Rajamouli and written by KV Vijayendra Prasad. The story of the Jr NTR -starrer follows an orphan Samrat, who is adopted by the Ram Bhupal Varma who raise him as one of their own and the patriarch's granddaughter falls in love with him; however, he leaves her to be with a mentally unstable girl. The movie witnessed Jr NTR in a captivating role that enthralled the audience, and it went on to become one of the biggest hits of his career.

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The award-winning superstar was seen in three roles in this big-ticket entertainer. He essayed the roles of Jai Kumar (Raavan), a ruthless gangster who suffers from dysphemia, Lava Kumar, a bank manager who adheres to his principles and runs an ethical life and Kusa Kumar, an expert mugger with a happy-go-lucky attitude who does anything for money. The film follows identical triplets, who get separated at a young age, follow different paths of life and the turmoil that ensues upon their reunion. The Jr NTR starrer was a big success at the box office, and it was screened under the 'Best of Asia' category at the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival in South Korea.

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This successful film marks the first collaboration of Jr NTR, with Koratala Siva. The plot of the Jr NTR-starrer revolves around Sathyam (Mohanlal) and Anand (Jr NTR) an environmental activist. Anand is recruited by Sathyam, who operates a large automobile service centre named "Janatha Garage" and undertakes law enforcement through his group of automobile mechanics because the legal agencies are thought to be inadequate. It went down in history as the highest opening for a Telugu film in 2016 and is the second-highest Telugu opening of all time, only behind Baahubali: The Beginning. Jr NTR won Nandi Award under the Best Actor category for his power-packed performance.

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Jr NTR hit the ball out of the park with his performance and star power in the movie written and directed by Trivikram Srinivas. The film revolves around a young man (Veera Raghava Reddy essayed by the actor) whose life changes after engaging in a violent fight with henchmen from the rival village. He escapes to Hyderabad and decides to stay away from violence in order to bring peace between the two villages whose people have been at loggerheads for three decades. Making the right noise at the global level, the movie not only garnered 165 crores at the box office but also attracted positive reviews from the critics.

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