Mahanati

I'm mostly familiar with Bollywood, although I have seen a few Tamil movies. This title was both a cinematic and a learning experience for me. It's a biopic of the most famous actress in Telegu cinema of the 50's and 60's. The story may seem awfully familiar, but I guess that's the fate of fame. Here's what I loved about this film: the integration of two stories, one modern, one historical; the amazing abilitiy, innocence, sweetness and essential goodness of Savitri (and the actress who portrayed her); the use of the black & white recreations of old film; the depiction of a wide-open film industry like Hollywood was said to be in the 1930's; and finally, the scaled-down musical numbers (I really don't like the nouveau Bollywood musical numbers, with the hip-hop, modern clothing and blondes). I did some reading and You-Tubing after I watched this, and the accuracy of this depiction seems spot-on. I don't give 10s as a rule, but this film is 9+.

Excellent movie that lives upto the expectations of a biopic about the legendary actress!

Let me start with what I remembered when I heard the name Savithri until I saw the movie. I remembered the queen of weepy movies that the kid in me didn't want to watch on a Sunday evening. I remembered my grandmother's heavy praises about her acting. I remembered her masculine acting in the movie Maya Bazaar, the movie I loved. I remembered mentions about her being a drunkard which made me wonder why would such a popular actress go mad like that. Little did I know that she was a fun-loving person with interest in race cars, a philanthropist and had so much complications with marriage and life but lived like a lioness until she fell prey for alcoholism.

I went to the movie expecting a linear narrative of Savithri's life story but was pleasantly surprised to see that the director Nag Ashwin decided to take us through the journey of a lady journalist in 80s who was covering Savithri's death (Two Period movies in one). Here I am thinking high about this young pony-tailed newbie director just for taking up such an attempt instead of the usual masala and he strikes me even hard with his attention to detail, unexpected comedy and handling of emotional scenes with finesse. It only makes me wonder how many producers are out there (other than his father-in-law who produced this movie) who can bankroll for this crazy guy's future ambitions. Needless to say he has been added to my short list of directors to watch for.

Keerthy Suresh! She really makes sure that nobody can brush aside her choice for Savithri as just by chance for being a close look-alike physically. While it's not a surprise that she shines in the early portions as a playful teenager which she has portrayed already in other movies, she also proves that she can deliver a plethora of emotions including fit of rage, helplessness etc. Her mimic-ing of 60s like facial expressions and jaw movements also help the role. I would have liked to see less of her teeth in some scenes though. But I have to say I expected more from Dulquer. I didn't see Gemini Ganesan's soft-spoken charm come across but he does score in later scenes while expressing frustration. Samantha does her part well but I am not sure what exactly others see as special in the climax scene. It was just usual.

Coming to the shortcomings of the film, I felt Nag could have tried to replaced certain scenes with just a dialogue/narration to avoid the awkwardness. For ex, the laddu eating scene right after showing her marriage problems, comical engagement scene of Samantha while the audience is trying to digest the fact that Savithri became an alcoholic. It's like eating dessert between sambar rice and rasam rice! Hope he will learn with more films how important it is to maintain the emotional state of audience. Oh and btw, padding actor's face with stuff just to show that she put on weight doesn't help with expressing emotions. Even Kamal did this mistake in Dasavadharam so I don't blame Nag much.

I have one burning question though. How does the story of Savithri (going from success to failure due to her "love" for a married guy who cheats her later) inspire Samantha to "kick"-start her love life opposing even her parents, I don't know. What would have been a perfect end to her story is if she develops courage to fight against male chauvinism inspired by Savithri. Poor Nag might have been worried about alienating male audience too much.

Overall, If you're crazy bugged about the formula movies that they're spinning nowadays and would like to spend some worthy time in nostalgia, go watch this movie.

Great biography and fantastic narration. It's like 5 hrs after the movie n I can still carry the feel. Credit goes to all the Cast n crew. Everyone performed their best.

Must n Worth Watch film. #SavithriLivesForever #Mahanati

I've never in my wildest thought would have imagined Keerthy Suresh could be a testament, her presence match on par to the late Savitri that there is not a frame in this film that doesn't feel her infection leaving a mark which will remain with you long after the cinema. It was a facepalm moment for the Keerthy Suresh critic in me while witnessing Mahanati, the star who has slogged her way through so much mediocre films, has had her fair share of significance in tinsel town doing the same roles, and bats her eyelashes to woo the bozos and incel fellas. Facepalm moment for yours truly after watching Mahanati. Total kick in the teeth!

Prep plan: Well I wanted to do my ritual of having a little booze before entering a bog-standard film with my friends. To add to the tragedy with a day left for Karnataka elections, Government had notified pubs and bars to be closed till 12th of May. Well, a U-turn to return home, i almost bailed, but stayed for the sake of Dulquer Salman. Figured, alright, let's give this "cringey Keerthy Suresh" a shot, stone-cold sober in Gandhinagar which is the hubspot of cinema fans across Bangalore.

The movie ended, i walked out of cinema with such a great joy of seeing a decent Telugu film after ages. Last time I felt this happy, hmm in top of my head i'd say it's Gotta be "Seethamma Vakitlo Sirimalle Chettu". Keerthy, she plays this innocent girl throughout, sometimes it feels a bit too much, kich kich, but the background music saves it. As you may be aware that the story follows Savitri's exodus from her village to Madras who dreams of making it big while her well-wishers believe that she can create waves in repertoire cinema. She then meets the Quixotic Gemini Ganeshan and her life blooms as she travels in green pastures.

Well good things come to an end so does this love story of rags to riches and riches to rags. I don't want dig more on the story as the movie plays out like a partly like a melodrama documentary. The screenplay filled with subtext provided a sort of ongoing commentary on the story that makes it much more interesting. Seeing obvious parallels with the lead actress' reel and real lives collide is odd, but like the parallels between Savitri and the character she is preparing to play, it only adds depth to the story and gives us more insight into what is happening and mixes effortlessly with the central story.

Without a doubt, "Mahanati" is a fine piece of cinema that will captivate audiences of all kinds, whether they're looking for entertainment, time-pass or an engaging cinematic experience.

From a person who has almost zero knowledge about the telugu film industry and its upbringing, Mahanati's aura and atmosphere will always be distant from me. But even from that itself i was able to witness an epic, drawn from a simple script and effort that makes this a great, if not , a must watch.

Telugu film industry is probably considered by many as the place that houses simple, no nonsense mass masala films. But recent times has proven us wrong. From Rangasthalam , Baahubali and Arjun Reddy, it has proven itself to be able to sustain well executed, brilliant films as well.

Mahanati will be a film that has the potential to be a classic. But not all biographies achieve the reach and attention that Mahanati so easily gets. It's not about the making, but how the story is told that makes it so damn exciting. From the loose opening to the grandeur ending, Mahanati is a gift to all those who embrace film in its raw form : to tell a story.

Biographies often have the tendency to fictionalize certain events for dramatic purposes. And i don't know how much Mahanati is fictionalized. As much as i can differ between those which are fictionalized and those which are real, Mahanti has done that expertly. The fictionalization is on spot. It can be compared to, perhaps as a event that is to emphasize something more, rather than just a blunt scene.

Mahanati's biggest plus might be its cast. Keerthy Suresh has grown from a simple, 'cute' actress to someone who can wield powerful performances, if demanded. Dulquer, Samantha all provided the performance that everyone expects. It is sure a economical casting. Dulquer has his roots in Malayalam. So does Keerthy. Samantha has established herself a prominent actress in the whole of south India and Vijay Deverakonda's next film is sure to make the counters ticking.

The cinematography does need some mention. The frames were slick, moving and fast. It doesn't sacrifice space for sub-par elements. Though the comedic scenes were bit of a mess. Perhaps it appeals to the region based film critics.

Mahanati is south India's answer to a legend. And it sure is one.

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