Sri Nandikolla Gopala Rao was a Zamindar and also a renowned artist during the early 20th Century. He had a passion for painting. His paintings were widely acknowledged by the kings of his time. He was born in Cocanada (presently Kakinada) in Injiram , AndhraPradesh. He hailed from a wealthy family of Zamindar’s and was the munsiff for injiram during the British rule. Sri Nandikolla Gopala Rao inagurated the first "Pendal" (cinema theatre) at Kakinada, he also contributed his money to the temple god of Injiram "Pardesamma" every year. His contemporary artistic skills were rare and he was considered India’s most genius artist of his time.