Balakrishna’s new film NTR which chronicles the life of legendary actor-turned-politician late NT Rama Rao will be launched on the auspicious day of Ugadi on March 18 in Hyderabad.

Sources say Balayya, who is known to be a man of superstitions has personally fixed up the time and date for the opening ceremony. “The regular shooting will commence on the same day and the makers are planning to wrap up the shooting by August,” says a source.

Directed by Teja, the film’s pre-production is in full swing and the makers have already completed extensive research to get NTR’s characterisation right and have gathered information on a lot of events that happened in his life.

The team is currently on the lookout for a suitable actor to play NTR’s wife and the word is that they are using face recognition technology to finalise one. Also, according to latest developments, Nadhiya has been approached to play former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s role, while the team is still exploring options for actors to essay the roles of Akkineni Nageswara Rao and PV Narasimha Rao.