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Published Aug 18, 2025 | 11:49 AM ⚊ Updated Aug 18, 2025 | 11:49 AM
Junior NTR.
Synopsis: Junior NTR, who has never hidden his respect for the legendary NTR, remains the neglected grandson. Family get-togethers, for him, are like school roll calls — his name is always the one that mysteriously goes missing. Balakrishna’s recent “oops-I-forgot” moment while listing Nandamuri family members only added extra edge to the simmering feud.
War-2, released on 14 August, seems to have left not just onscreen cinematic explosions but also political embers smouldering between Junior NTR’s fans and the loyal legions of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP).
The TDP squads, especially those who treat Nara Lokesh almost like a crown prince-in-waiting, are still smarting from Junior NTR’s sharp comments at the War-2 pre-release event in Mumbai in September 2024. To them, NTR is less of a star and more of a looming comet threatening to burn up Lokesh’s smooth ride to the gaddi. Many secretly prayed that the film would flop.
But fate, and the box office, had other plans. The movie is drawing in crowds, though critics say it has its share of “gray areas.” Still, a near-hit is more than enough to reignite the fan wars.
Junior NTR, who has never hidden his respect for the legendary NTR, remains the neglected grandson. Family get-togethers, for him, are like school roll calls — his name is always the one that mysteriously goes missing. Balakrishna’s recent “oops-I-forgot” moment while listing Nandamuri family members only added extra edge to the simmering feud.
With War-2 providing the perfect backdrop, TDP workers have found a reason to sharpen their arrows against Junior NTR’s “audacity” in saying that no one could come between him and NTR’s legacy, though he let the question linger- political or cinematic?
Anantapur MLA Daggubati Venkateswara Prasad even took things up a notch a few days before the release, letting loose some colourful language that reportedly made Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu wince — perhaps wondering whether he should order soap to wash mouths instead of slogans.
The Lokesh brigade is determined to keep Junior NTR from claiming NTR’s political legacy. But the actor, with his subtle (and sometimes not-so-subtle) hints, seems to suggest he’s the rightful heir to the party founded by his grandfather in 1982. For his loyalists, it’s an old wound that dates back to 1995, when Naidu “politically annexed” the party by dethroning NTR.
Now, the battleground is clear. TDP will not rest until Lokesh’s succession is uncontested, and Junior NTR seems equally determined not to stop poking the yellow brigade with his caustic one-liners. Who knows — after War-2, he might just announce War-3: This time, it could be personal!
