An actress par excellence who ruled Telugu and Tamil cinema for two decades. The first female superstar in the history of Indian cinema whose short life saw struggle, super-stardom and tragedy. While one runs short of words in describing her greatness and her achievements, one word that can describe both her reel and real life is ‘intensity’. One can only wonder at her acting prowess and how naturally it came to her when we realize that before the age of 21 when Mayabazar was released, she had acted in iconic films like Missamma, Kanyasulkam and Devadasu . To attempt this biopic on the most respected actress in Telugu cinema is no mean achievement and director Nag Ashwin deserves all the praise coming his way for the amount of research he put in and the care and respect with which he crafted this epic.

 This movie being a tribute, the director naturally chooses the narration to be in third person through Madhuravani(Samantha), a reporter asked to cover Savitri’s coma. What does the next generation learn from the actress’s life? Madhuravani’s quest provides an answer. And there is the photographer Anthony (Vijay Devarakonda) joining her in this journey. While the track between the two evokes some laughs and empathy, it sometimes becomes a hindrance to the main narration.

 Everything about Savitri is so well known and well documented by film reporters and historians. Sirivennela Sitaramasastry garu, the ace lyricist who wrote 5 songs for this film says, “For an actress who probably spent 75% of her time at peak in front of camera, it’s a tight rope walk to show her life away from the camera”. The first 14 formative years of her childhood spent in Vijayawada(Bezawada in those days), the poverty, struggle to get a foothold, her uncle K.V Chowdary’s (Rajendraprasad) ambitions for her, Savitri’s own yearning for a father are shown with great attention to detail.

 Savitri’s rise coincided with the golden decade of Telugu cinema and showing the first is impossible without the second. The director’s best move is to highlight this phase and it pays off. If you are a Telugu/Tamil movie buff, you wouldn’t want to miss seeing about Vijaya productions, Vijaya-Vauhini studios and their great movies. So in come the titans like K.V Reddy, L.V Prasad, Nageswara Rao and movies like Mayabazar. It also brings the most important man in her life Gemini Ganesan whom she married secretly. Salman Dulquer is superb and pulls off this complex character with ease. Diction is not a problem as he is supposed to be not-so-perfect in Telugu.

 It is in the next phase which is about Savitri’s transformation into Mahanati and changes in her personal life that the makers put their best efforts in. The phase that focuses on the ‘persona’. The costumes and jewelry are done with great care to take us to that era. Her screen life is shown through some memorable songs. The camera by Dani Sanchez-Lopez is outstanding. The background score by Mickey J. Meyer evokes the right emotion and mood but the music for the songs themselves could have been more in line with those times. The use of excessive orchestration doesn’t help.

 Keerthy Suresh as Savitri really steps up here to showcase Savitri’s tumultuous phase of life. There are a few scenes where she resembles Savitri a lot. To play Savitri is one thing and to attempt to match her performance by doing some of her iconic scenes is something else. She rises up to this challenge and comes out with flying colors. Her portrayal of the frustration, loneliness and alcoholism is outstanding. This part of the movie is sure to make one’s heart heavy. One thing that stands out on the negative side is her diction. Savitri is known for her impeccable diction in both Telugu and Tamil. Maybe she fared better in the the Tamil version (Nadigaiyar Thilagam).

 In showing the final and tragic phase of her life great care is taken to highlight her magnanimity, charitable nature and a strong-willed personality who wanted to live life on her own terms but never seemed to have come to terms with the changes happening around her.

 Savitri is synonymous with best that Telugu (and Tamil) cinema had to offer and her struggle-meteoric rise-struggle saga needed to be told for the current generation. She said in an interview that she fainted when doing some scenes in Pasamalar/RaktaSambandham and used to be often reminded to treat it as ‘just acting’. Ironically, her last lines in the movie ‘Chivaraku Migiledi’ that fetched her Rashtrapati award are ‘I was not acting. I do not know how to act’. Those say a lot about her approach to acting and life. Chivaraku Migiledi means ‘what is left at the end’. She has left us a great legacy and great fame for herself. ‘Mahanati’ (meaning the ‘great actress’) the title given to her is the most unique ever!!

जयन्ति ते सुकृतिनः रससिद्धाः कवीश्वराः |

नास्ति येषां यशः काये जरामरणजं भयम् ||

Victorious are those poets who have mastered the Rasa.

As there is no fear of old age and death for their body of fame.

 The producers Vyjayanti Movies need to be complimented for this one-of-a-kind biopic which will down as a classic and remembered for a long time to come. Many veteran actors and actresses have been roped in. Cameos by various others enhance the experience. Definitely watch this movie to celebrate and rediscover Savitri, the crowning glory of South Indian cinema.