Mahaanati stands out as an epic biopic of Mahanti Savitri gaaru, directed by Nag Ashwin. Mahaanati is the first ever biopic of a Telugu actor/actress and it turned out be a masterpiece. Hats-off to Nag Ashwin for bringing out this epic to TFI, he redefined the word biopic with Mahaanati. Each and every scene in this movie is so precious and narrated in an enormous way. While watching this movie you will get a feel that you are also a part of the story and everything looks so real. The film's sets also appears so real and convinces us with 40's and 80's backdrop set ups.
Keerthy Suresh is a perfect replica of Savitri gaaru and portrayed her role very well. This is a lifetime role and achievement for Keerthy Suresh and she will cherish this role for life long. It is a treat to watch Keerthy playing Mahanati's role. In a few instances and moments we get a feeling that Savitri gaaru is actually portraying her own role. One cannot imagine any other heroine portraying Savitri gaaru's role. Keerthy's dedication, sincerity, hard work and commitment towards her role is incredible. May be she won't get a such great tailor made role for her in future. The innocence, naughtiness, stardom, heartbreak, alcoholism and kindness of Savitri's has been showcased very well and Keerthy portrayed them with nerve. I want to see Keerthy in such roles again in future in her upcoming movies. We all owe her one with this film. She up-stepped as an actress with her scintillating performance throughout the film, especially in the second half. Her performance towards the climax is quite emotional. It looks like cake walk to her in acting emotional scenes. Keerthy Suresh is ultimately the sole reason for the film's grandeur and success, I could say that.
Dulquer Salmaan is a well known versatile actor of this generation. He is a god gifted actor to Indian cinema. He is familiar to Telugu audience with Ok Bangaram movie. Dulquer is the perfect choice for playing Gemini Ganesan's role. He just lived in the character of Gemini Ganesan. It's a treat to watch him and Keerthy together on screen. On screen chemistry between Dulquer and Keerthy worked out very well. Dulquer portrayed his role to the best.
Samantha Akkineni as Madhuravani is pretty impressive. Her dubbing with stammering worked out very well too. Her emotional performance in the climax speaks the volume of her acting skills. Undoubtedly this is her career best performance.
Vijay Devarakonda as Vijay Anthony provides ample support to Samantha. All his scenes with Samantha came out very well. Their love story is another added attraction to this movie.
Rajendra Prasad gets a meaty role after a long time. He is exceptional in his character. Relationship between Rajendra Prasad and Keerthy Suresh brings a lot of depth and emotional touch to the story. Shalini Pandey and Malavika Nair are too good in their limited roles. The veteran actors like Naresh, Bhanupriya, Tulasi and Tanikella Bharani were major attractions to the film. Coming to the cameos, Naga Chaitanya as Akkineni Nageswara Rao gaaru, Mohan Babu as SV Ranga Rao gaaru, Prakash Raj as Aluri Chakrapani gaaru, Director Krish as KV Prasad gaaru, Srinivas Avasarala as LV Prasad gaaru and Sandeep Reddy Vanga as Subba Rao gaaru were nothing short of spectacular. Their cameos stands out and adds attraction to this epic cinema. Jr.NTR could have played Sr.NTR gaaru, that would become a biggest asset to the film. Jr.NTR could have accepted the chance to play Sr.NTR, because no one could play his role. The only disappointment is we saw NTR gaaru in CGI for just a moment.
Coming to the technical department, music by Mickey J Meyer is fresh and breezy and his background score elevates the film big time and brings lot of depth to the proceedings. All the songs were shot beautifully. Production values are top notch as the film and sets appears so real and rich. Cinematography by Dani Sanchez-Lopez is extraordinary as the visuals are eye catchy. Editing is sleek. Costume designers needs special mentions for the costumes of Keerthy Suresh and all other characters, they have done a splendid job. After delivering a masterpiece like Yevade Subramanyam, director Nag Aswin chosen a biopic and stayed true and loyal to the subject. He never deviated form the story and didn't add any unnecessary scenes or songs and forceful comedy. Everything about Savitri's life has been showcased in artistic manner. We can hope Nag would deliver more films like Mahanati and to become a great director in our era.
On the whole, Mahanati is an artistic tribute to the legendary actress Mahanati Savitri gaaru. This film showcases everything that Savitri gaaru gone through her life in an effective way. Her childhood, struggles, emotions, naughtiness, innocence, kindness, heartbreak and alcoholism has been showcased very naturally. Mahanati is nothing short of an epic and this film speaks the volume of our TFI's talent in making biopics. We can expect more biopics of our legendary actors/actresses in future, Mahanati will remain as the root and inspiration for them. Mahanati is a heart-warming film to each and every section of audience. Don't miss it. Mahanti- Come be a part of history.
Review of Mahanati
