SHOWMAN ON THE ROAD N.T. Rama Rao                           1994   His stint in Telugu movies was as successful as his tenure in Andhra Pradesh politics. "If the Congress started the campaign by taking Andhra Pradesh for granted, as the pocket-borough of its party president, he faces the threat of getting his pocket picked. This is often the price for complacence, particularly when you have on your tail a predator as single-minded as a rejuvenated N.T.Rama Rao," India Today said in 1994. Among the many adjectives aides used to describe him: quixotic, whimsical, megalomaniac. Photo: Sipra Das