YSR my best buddy, begged NTR: Chandrababu in Aha's NBK Unstoppable

HYDERABAD: Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief N Chandrababu Naidu has created ripples, saying that he and YSR moved around very closely during his youthful days. He made this stunning revelation, not on any political plank where he usually crosses swords with his opponents, but on the talk show hosted by his brother-in-law Nandamuri Balakrishna.

Balakrishna's super-hit talk show 'Unstoppable with NBK' had surprised everyone with its stupendous success in its season 1. Buoyed by its popularity, the makers of the show and OTT platform 'aha' which streams it, have obviously decided to launch its Season 2 on an even bigger scale. And this is what they came up with: The coming-together of the brothers-in-law, hailing from the Nandamuri and Nara families, for the first episode of Season 2.

The promo, released by the show makers, has been going viral and is instantly generating a lot of buzz because of the intriguing and teasing content in it. In the promo, Balakrishna was seen asking Chandrababu Naidu a whole lot of questions to which the latter responded with elan. Naidu, who is usually a picture of glumness, looked quite relaxed and returned all the volleys laced with wit. More importantly, he sported a wide grin and was also seen having a hearty laugh, which was a refreshing change.

In the promo, Balakrishna was seen posing questions, some of them Chandrababu would have usually shied away from, had it been any other interview. But, probably, because of Balakrishna, his brother-in-law, Naidu appeared to have decided to be a bit more trepid and pointed in his answers.

To a question on who is his best friend, Naidu surprised everyone by taking the name of YSR (YS Rajasekhar Reddy), with whom he had a history of both friendship in youthful days and bitter enmity in politics later. Chandrababu Naidu is often referred to as a politician who is eternally surrounded by a strong coterie that features no friends.

The TDP chief referring to the late YSR is certain to keep the political circles abuzz with speculation for many days to come. One should not be surprised, if the TDP chief is seen as staging a counter charm offensive to keep the YSRCP of YS Jaganmohan Reddy on the edge.

Balakrishna was then heard asking what were the mischievous things the two (Naidu and YSR) had done in their haydays. Naidu's response was however smartly gagged to keep the curiosity quotient up for the actual telecast of the episode.

Earlier, when asked what was the most romantic thing he did in his life, Naidu retorts, "Meekante yekkuve chesaamu", implying he was more romantic than his charismatic brother-in-law. Naidu stretches it further saying that what Balakrishna had been doing on-screen, he had done during his student days itself. The parting shot to this question was however the revelation on how Naidu and co used to remove silencers of their bikes and ride them around to grab the attention of girls! Hard to believe, it was Chandrababu Naidu but the TDP chief had no qualms in letting a few secrets out from his younger days and unveiling the largely unknown side of his.

Then, came the question that made the TDP chief, the alleged mastermind of the infamous August coup, squirm in his seat.

"What was the big decision in your life?"

"It was the decision of 1995. You all were witness to what happened on that day. I fell on his feet, begged him to listen to me. But he refused…" Even as the sharp editing abruptly ends it to keep the suspense alive, Naidu left nothing for imagination on what he was painstakingly trying to convey.

It was the episode leading to the dethroning of NTR, the darkest moment of TDP's history, that finally saw Naidu gaining a firm grasp on the party. It was evident that Naidu was stoutly defending the rebellion that he carried out against NTR with the help of the latter's own children. How he goes on to justify his infamous act would be known only when the full episode is streamed on the OTT platform.

Balakrishna also invited Nara Lokesh to the sets to give company to his father. Even the young general secretary of the TDP was cornered with a question on his humiliating defeat in Mangalagiri in the 2019 Assembly elections. How did Lokesh gulp this down and what was his take on his Mangalagiri drubbing is something that will keep all the fans of the show waiting with bated breath till the D-Day.