In 1974, Balakrishna acted as a child artist in "Tatamma Kala", which was directed by N. T. Rama Rao (NTR), his father. He acted in several films, many of which were directed by NTR, including "Daana Veera Soora Karna" (1977), "Sri Madvirata Parvam" (1979), "Akbar Salim Anarkali" (1979) and "Sri Tirupati Venkateswara Kalyanam" (1979). At the age of 16, he acted in a movie titled "Annadammula Anubandham" (1975), a remake of Dharmendra's Hindi movie "Yaadon Ki Baaraat", and played a brother to his real life father NTR. Balakrishna appeared as son to his real life brother Nandamuri Harikrishna in the movie "Dana Veera Sura Karna".