Mahanati: Savitri Garu/Amma
Where do I start with this one? I don’t have many words to describe this film, this remarkable biopic of a woman whose story baffled, awed and tore up audiences across states? A woman whose skills and personality was light years ahead of her time, a woman whose talent seemed boundless? A woman regarded so highly among the likes of famous actors ANR and NTR? A woman whose natural ability to perform turned out to be her greatest downfall? How does one begin to talk about the greatest actress of South India; Savitri Garu?
She may have died three decades ago, but her life is recreated this decade, where her story and love of acting is brought alive by Director Nag Ashwin, his talented crew and the brilliant star cast of Mahanati/ Nadigaiyar Thilagam.
Mahanati truly pays homage and is a delightful yet nostalgic tribute to the legendary actress Savitri. The film focuses on the tiniest details of her life, bringing forth her most endearing moments and unpleasant habits, it focuses on the hardships that shaped Savitri’s life; from her childhood to her last breathing moments. Her long-lived quest for the truth about her father, the need to put a face to the memories that she lent from the imaginations of her mother’s stories. Having no choice but to finally find a match to that description, first in the statue of the god (vighraham) near the temple, then in her uncle who accepts her as his daughter many years later. Then. finally in Gemini Ganesan when he takes her in and shows her the bond between a father and child and how fathers build a child’s perception of the world around them. Perhaps that was what she liked most in him, the comfort and shelter a father provides his child from the evil in the world and the insightful wisdom that he imparts his child with. Mahanati leaves you with a sense of despair that such a tragedy could befall such a lovely human being, yet deep admiration for the way she lived her life; honour, love and humility till her last moments.
The direction and cinematography of Mahanati are phenomenal, the vision of Nag Ashwin’s story has bled into each and every frame and scene, each scene was handled with such delicacy and care. Since the story was set in the 1940s-1980s the appropriate camera filters were used, every time a flashback to Savitri’s childhood there would be a light orange/yellow hue, the camera styles used were also a nod to the golden era. With blurred out focus or vintage frames, they shaded the visuals in pastels hues. The scenery and the backdrop of the village Savitri called her home in her formative years were exceptionally beautiful, the sunset, the greenery and the still water all looked so flawless like as if they hadn’t been touched by modern civilisation and its careless tendency to destroy nature.
Moving on to the cast that makes up this beautiful film, Keerthy Suresh plays the titular character Savitri and oh boy does she pull it off. Her look, feel, the presence that she filled the frame with was awe-inspiring. I truly had no idea that she would be so lifelike and pronounced. After a while, you can even imagine her as Savitri alive and smiling in front of your eyes. Her Telugu accent is almost perfect and you can almost believe her talking like a native Telugu ammayi (girl). The grace that she oozes playing this character is so uncanny to the actress she portrays, even when you see her unravelling and falling from her prime, she does it with grace. Although, I mean I still have some hesitation to completely fall in love with this film, due to the fact that an actual Native Telugu speaking actress could have done as good a job. Since this film does focus on Savitri"s life and the impression she had left on the Telugu states rather than Tamil Nadu.
And then there is Dulquer Salmaan, I honestly haven’t expressed this enough, but Dulquer is trying a phenomenal actor and he really truly is not living under his father’s shadow. I usually believe that actors that are introduced to the industry via their famous parents turn out either having no talent in acting or having shitty attitudes. Dulquer is neither o and you can clearly see from the effort he puts in each and every screen. He even went the extra mile to learn Telugu and that makes my heart so full. I’ll be the first one to admit though his Telugu is not completely fluent and proficient, it does not need to be since Gemini Ganesan was a native Tamilian and so it is very natural for his speech to have a rough edge and be leaning slightly more towards a Tamil accent. However, even then Dulquer did a fantastic job, all of the walk, the arrogance that Gemini had, the smirk. The charming part he had it down pat. Even towards the end as his negative streak is laid bear you can clearly see the love and affection he had for Savitri who he perhaps shared the greatest love story with. The affectionate way he calls his beau “Ammadi”, I’m pretty sure many in the audience swooned over.
Coming to the rest of the cast and the crew, I genuinely believed everyone was truly natural and authentic. Samantha Akkineni and Vijay Devarakonda both are skilled and refined actors who agreed to take on smaller roles because they believed it was too great a story to not bring to the masses. Though their roles were small, they portrayed a curious and dedicated journalist and shy yet talented photographer Madhuravani and Vijay Antony smoothly. Through the process of finding out the truth of Savitri find the strength to love and stand by each other.
Not forgetting Rajendra Prasad who plays K.V Chowdary, Savitri’s paternal uncle, he is so good in his role. it is where he really shines, playing a poor and frustrated yet ambitious uncle, forced to take in his wife’s widowed sister and daughter. Unable to afford a living for all of them, he has to look for creative ways to earn a living and that is where his niece comes into play. He forces Savitri to learn dance which later evolves into performing theatre where Savitri hones her acting and where she first gets her big break. All of the cameos by the actors were really good, natural and lived in, like Naga Chaitanya as ANR, Shalini’s Susheela, Prakash Raj as Aluri Chakrapani, Malavika Nair ad Alamelu, Mohan Babu as S.V Ranga Rao, Manobala as P. Pullaiah and so many more.
Encompassing this masterpiece are the incredible and soothing soundtracks by Mickey J. Meyer that showcase what may be Savitri’s most memorable and outstanding moments in her life. My personal favourites are Sada Nannu and Chivaraku Migiledi, the former for the beautiful and hopeful promises and made by one’s lover and the happy time spent with them. Chivaraku Migiledi because of the haunting way, the lyrics portray the end. Chivaraku Migeledi; “Whatever is left at the end” all that was and had been, reduced to tears and the lonely solace of addiction. It is here that we see and truly believe that the end is coming near, where the happiness and success that she once tasted are ripped away from her once again, at this point the audience truly see her at her worst, a shell of a woman she was, a girl yet again wrecked by the thunderous waves of her mistakes and her unfortunate fate.
The truth really is that this film was a mere visual adaptation of what was one of our most famous actress’s life. Yes, there were some exaggerations and cinematic misrepresentations and maybe it may have defended Savitri’s actions a few times but at its core, it did a splendid job of narrating Savitri’s life. Her fans and audience may have known of her as a superstar and those who disliked may have seen her as a bad role model, a self-destructive human being or a homewrecker. This film, for the most part, showed her as a human being someone who was just like us, someone was only as flawed as we are human. Someone who tried her best to achieve better with the circumstances life gave her, she made multiple mistakes, took some decisions that ended up costing her career and later her life but it showed how vulnerable she was. A human being, someone who may have been considered as indestructible, incapable of empathy or emotions because she was famous and an actor. The film recounted how she lived her life, the way she wanted to and she lived it fully and loved with her whole being. She was a presence that demanded attention and though it has been more than 40 years since she passed, she’s still known and acknowledged not just in industry but in the regions that she captivated with her eyes and voice. Life may have moved on normally since she left this world, but thanks to the talented minds behind Mahanati, there will be a remembrance of an enchanting and extraordinary woman who shook the South Indian Film Industries with her acting. May she live forever in the hearts of the people she etched her unique mark on. Rest in peace, Ma’am you can finally breathe now.
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