HYDERABAD, India — Nandamuri Harikrishna, the son of former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N.T. Rama Rao, died on Wednesday morning after he met with an accident on the Annaparthi road near Narketpally in Telangana’s Nalgonda district. He was 61.

According to media reports, he was on his way to attend a marriage in Nellore in Andhra Pradesh from Hyderabad, after leaving the city at around 4:30 a.m., when his car attempted to overtake another vehicle and hit the divider on the highway.

Former politician and an actor, the 61-year-old was father to Telugu actors Jr. NTR and Kalyan Ram. Members of the political and film fraternity from the state paid tribute to Harikrishna while many expressed shock at his sudden demise.

His son Jr. NTR and Kalyan Ram rushed to the hospital where N Harikrishna was taken after the accident. Videos of the actor arriving at the hospital and a picture of Jr. NTR with his brother Kalyan Ram was shared on social media.

After the news of Harikrishna’s death, fans have been sharing throwback videos of when Jr. NTR had spoken about the bond he shared with his father. These videos were from the launch event of his movie Nannaku Prematho that released in 2016. In an emotional speech, Jr. NTR had said, “My father has always taught the three of us that you can fall down, you can even reach the cusp of death, but always depend upon yourself to be successful. He never taught us to live under his shadows or to use our grandfather’s (NTR) name to come up in life. He always told us to live like ourselves and promised that his blessings would always be with us.”

He had also added, “If something were to happen to my father, I can’t imagine what that would be like.” — Agencies