With the 2018 biographical drama Mahanati, which was based on the life of legendary actress Savitri, National Award-winning filmmaker Nag Ashwin and acclaimed actress Keerthy Suresh delivered one of Indian cinema's most celebrated collaborations. Keerthy's transformative portrayal won widespread acclaim and earned her the prestigious National Film Award for Best Actress.
Reflecting on the making of the film, Nag Ashwin revealed why Keerthy was never just an option, but his only choice to bring the iconic star’s extraordinary journey to life. Speaking about the journey of portraying Savitri across different stages of her life, Nag Ashwin said, “We introduced Savitri at the age of six, and Keerthy played her from fourteen until the end. That was another major reason Keerthy became our only choice. She had to convincingly portray even a 14-year-old.”
Ashwin explained that it was Keerthy’s natural innocence in the Tamil film Thodari that convinced him she could convincingly embody the teenage Savitri. “I keep referring to the film Thodari because that’s where I saw the fourteen-year-old Savitri, basically. She looked very innocent—wearing a langa jacket, with no make-up, that kind of look. There were very few people whom I felt could look like that and pull it off.”
At the same time, he believed she possessed the emotional depth and maturity needed to portray the iconic actress through the later phases of her life, making her uniquely suited to carry the role from adolescence to the age of 46.
Keerthy Suresh’s transformative performance in Mahanati received widespread acclaim from audiences and critics alike, culminating in the National Film Award for Best Actress, firmly establishing it as one of the defining performances of her career. She will next be seen in Sathyavan Savithiri, Raftaar, Akka, Rowdy Janardhana, a project with Venkatesh Daggubati and more, further expanding her diverse slate of projects.
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