Superstar Krishna was known for his kind-hearted nature and his willingness to walk the extra mile for his producers. Anecdotes point to his 'too sweet' nature resulting in him making nothing out of many movies. If the producer was unable to pay him remuneration, Krishna would just keep quiet.

But this is not to say that Krishna lacked convictions or resisted controversies. He had his political inclinations and his preference was the Grand Old Party: Congress. He showed interest in abiding by the Congress party's socialist ideology at a time when TDP challenged its singular domination in the then united Andhra Pradesh. Even before this, Krishna was inclined to have a low-key rivalry on the professional front with the legendary NT Rama Rao, his fellow thespian and founder of TDP. It's believed that Krishna used his films to indirectly hit out at NTR's so-called hypocrisy.

The NTR-Krishna fan wars in the 1980s used to be bitter, says senior journalist Kurmanath, recalling that the film magazine Jyothi Chitra discontinued the 'Who is the Superstar?' contest to stave off bitter fan wars. After NTR entered politics, Krishna won the contest for three years in a row, sparking repeated rows.

Krishna won from the Eluru Lok Sabha constituency in 1989. Had it not been for the secular decline of Congress at the national level, he might probably have continued to be in the party's fold. Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi earned his respect, but PV Narasimha Rao and Sonia Gandhi couldn't.

Senior Congress leader V Hanumanth Rao today recalled that Krishna's loyalty to Congress remained steadfast all his life. "Even after his 'alludu' joined the TDP, he was always a Congress loyalist. He was a patriot," VHR said.