[2] Harikrishna was born on 2 September 1956 in Nimmakuru village of Krishna district in present-day Andhra Pradesh to N. T. Rama Rao and Basava Ramatarakam as their 4th son.

[3][additional citation(s) needed] Harikrishna made his acting debut in 1964 as a child artist in Sri Krishnavataram, in which he played Krishna.

[citation needed] In 2013, he renounced his Rajya Sabha seat as a mark of protest against the then United Progressive Alliance government's decision to divide Andhra Pradesh.

[12][additional citation(s) needed] Harikrishna died in a car crash in Nalgonda district, Narketpally, on 29 August 2018 at the age of 61.

He was driving at a high speed without a seat belt on his way to the Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh to attend a private ceremony of his friend, accompanied by two others.

His Toyota Fortuner crashed into a road median on Nalgonda district Highway near Narkatpally when he bent over to pick up a water bottle.

[14] Janakiram was a Telugu movie producer under the N. T. R. Arts banner who also met a tragic death in a road crash while travelling alone from Vijayawada to Hyderabad.