1 year for a classic: Exploring Mahanati from a different perspective.
Mahanati, the movie which made many multiplexes houseful with the majority of seats occupied by senior citizens is probably the best biopic made till now in Telugu cinema.
To be frank, before watching Mahanati, Savitri was just an actress to me. I was amused at the buzz the film gained before it’s release. There were many controversial interviews given by some of her contemporaries that surfaced online and they were contradictory.
Few YouTube channels also made cash from the controversies surrounded and few of them made the online even worse by articles having clickbait.
I watched Mahanati in a multiplex where there were many senior citizens including a couple (age~65) beside me. I assume everyone reading this article have seen this film.
I don’t know the real story, but I felt that the team wanted the film to be diplomatic as it had a simultaneous release in Tamil Nadu and they don’t want to screw up the buzz it garnered before release.
Now, let's explore the movie from a different perspective: Forget that it’s a biopic of a legend. Let us see this as a fictional story of an actress from her childhood to her last breath, set in the post-independence era.
I saw this movie as much progressive in terms of writing characters, especially women characters. So, I took the liberty of writing this article by viewing this movie as a fictional story.
The movie is a women-centric film of two women: The second one is a journalist doing her job against her parents’ wish of getting her married. The first and main character is the one, whose story was found interesting by the first lady.
Savitri — an innocent girl whose uncle, in order to make her popular brings her to Madras and unsuccessfully approach many studios to cast her as the main lead in films. She gets a chance to act opposite an established actor and loses it due to her screen fear. Then she does Tamil and Telugu films and falls in love with a married man.
The scene after “Sada Nannu Nadipe” song is written so convincing, in which Ganesan proposes Savitri relating his situation to that of Devadas. Despite the prevailing odds, she marries him and leaves her family to lead a normal life with him, leaving her career.
Then comes the evergreen classic “Mayabazar” that is still a landmark film for many filmmakers. Her career then has tremendous growth and prospering until Gemini feels jealous of her popularity (felicitation scene in Hyderabad). Gemini continues an affair with a lady. After betrayal by her close aides, including her husband and her servant, she becomes an alcoholic to overcome depression.
The strong character of Savitri, with her attitude of never accepting defeat, connects everyone to the core and I left the theater with a heavy heart and till now, I didn’t watch the complete movie for the second time.
The performances of all artists enhanced the writing of this film. Keerthy Suresh impressed us with the perfect portrayal of Savitri garu. Playing a character throughout all the ages of her life is awesome. Dulquer, though his debut in Telugu, made the character more interesting with his subtle expressions and charming face.
I started admiring Nag Ashwin after this film. With an experience of only one film, he made a classic. Mahanati is a perfect example of successful team efforts. The frames, soothing music, clear editing, everything is perfect. A young team, who would have born after the death of Savitri made a film on her life, with every aspect of the film to be perfect and enhancing each others’ work.
Mahanati is a classic which can’t be replicated and pride for Telugu cinema.
Dedicated this article to the legend and a person about whom we should all be aware of, Mahanati Savitri.
Do you find anything to add here? Comment below. I’d love to hear from you :)
Love,
Pd.
