The film reflects Savitri's life in totality: Swapna Dutt
But what is not known is that before finalising the actress, the makers looked at many others for the role.
The promotional posters of Mahanati reveal that the lead actress Keerthy Suresh fits perfectly into Savitri’s character. But what is not known is that before finalising the actress, the makers looked at many others for the role.
“We went through many actresses and one day, Nag saw one of Keerthy’s videos — a Tamil song, and immediately decided to cast her,” says Swapna Dutt, one of the producers of the film.
She elaborates, “We read many books related to Savitri garu, met her kids and did a lot of research. In fact, we did nearly one year of pre-production work before the shooting started.”
She further adds that Savitri’s kids were happy after they saw the script. “We want to tell the present generation about the legendary actress Savitri,” says Swapna, who is all praise for Keerthy Suresh.
“Keerthy saw many of Savitri’s films and we sent her some videos too. Keerthy’s mother is also an actress, so she too gave her inputs. During the shoot, she was very patient and worked very hard for every scene,” adds Swapna.
Meanwhile, Malayalam actor Dulquer Salmaan is playing Gemini Ganeshan in the film. “After Dulquer signed up, it became a huge project. When we narrated the story to him, he immediately accepted to do the film, which is a great thing in itself. Although the film revolves around Savitri, he is playing one of the principal characters. We are thankful to him for accepting the role and very soon, you can see how both of them performed,” says Swapna.
Interestingly, the makers erected old film sets for this film. “Thota Tharani garu, the legendary art director actually supervised all the sets, and helped recreate the old sets of films like Mayabazar, Devadas and many other films. He is completely satisfied,” says Swapna.
The other star cast includes actor Rajendra Prasad as Savitri’s uncle and Bhanu Priya as her mother. “We have shown the rise and fall of Savitri. Though we took a few cinematic liberties, the story completely reflects her life,” shares Swapna.