Underplayed Gems

Mahanati (2018)

Mahanati poster
Original title
మహానటి
Directed by
Nag Ashwin
Genre
biographical film
Country
India
Runtime
2h 57m
Rated
PG
Rating
7.5 of 10 from 61 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
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How it feels

This film tells the story of a famous Indian actress from the 1950s and 60s. It shows her rise to stardom, her difficult marriage, and her later struggles, all seen through the eyes of two journalists.

bittersweetlyricalpoignantslow-burnreflectivevisually lushtragicnostalgic

What happens

Mahanati (transl. The great actress) is a 2018 Indian Telugu-language biographical drama film based on the life of actress Savitri. It is written and directed by Nag Ashwin, and produced by Priyanka Dutt under Vyjayanthi Movies and Swapna Cinema. The film features Keerthy Suresh as Savitri while Dulquer Salmaan (in his Telugu debut) plays Savitri's husband Gemini Ganesan. The film also stars Samantha Ruth Prabhu and Vijay Deverakonda, while Rajendra Prasad, Bhanupriya, Divyavani, Mohan Babu and Prakash Raj appear in supporting roles. The plot follows Savitri's life, depicting her turbulent rise to prominence, marriage with Ganesan, and subsequent fall from grace, which is viewed from the perspective of a journalist and a photographer, played by Samantha and Deverakonda respectively. Ashwin began working on the biopic of Savitri following the release of his directorial debut Yevade Subramanyam (2015). Its principal photography began in May 2017 and ended in March 2018 with filming taking place in Hyderabad, Palakollu, Bangalore, Chennai, Mysore, and Delhi. Dani Sanchez-Lopez performed the cinematography while Kotagiri Venkateswara Rao edited the film. The film features the score and soundtrack composed by Mickey J. Meyer. Mahanati released theatrically on 9 May 2018 while its dubbed versions in Tamil released on 11 May 2018, with the title Nadigaiyar Thilagam and in Malayalam on the same day as Mahanadi. Mahanati received positive reviews for Keerthy's performance as Savitri and mixed reviews for Ashwin's screenplay and direction. The film won three awards at the 66th National Film Awards, namely, Best Feature Film in Telugu, Best Actress for Keerthy and Best Costume Design. The film also won four Filmfare Awards South including Best Film and Best Actress in Telugu category. Mahanati was screened at the International Film Festival of India, the Shanghai International Film Festival, and the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne. It also fetched the state Telangana Gaddar Film Award for Best Feature Film. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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