It is not a trivial thing if I give 10/10 to a movie, and that too when I don't understand the language. Watched it in Telugu with English subtitles. I couldn't resist to express my feelings for this film.
The movie is set in the olden times of 1930s-1970s and the background shown makes that clear. The story moves ahead very naturally, not allowing the viewers to take their eyes off. It very beautifully tells the story of a woman who may not be known today by the youth, but one that needs to be known by everyone.
You'll be mesmerized with the beauty and performance of Keertri Suresh. She justifies the role of the legend and plays all the phases of her life with ease and conviction. She starts off as a young, simple village girl who does theaters and later aspires to join cinema. Then she's portrayed as a successful actress, lover, mother, and finally as a sufferer of alcoholism. The amount of joy and satisfaction which you get by seeing her in most part of the film, an equal level of pain and helplessness is felt in the latter part when she suffers and sees her life falling apart. It'd be hard for anyone to not empathize with her. Dulquer and others have also played their parts well to make this wonderful creation.
The roles of Samantha and Vijay are just enough to complement the actual story of Savitri. The narrative style adopted here is well received by the audience.
A good movie makes its audience happy, but a great one inspires them and goes deep inside their hearts, making them contemplate even after the curtains are down. This one belongs to the latter category. Movies like this should be an inspiration to Telugu/Tamil cinema and Indian cinema in general. Well done crew members.
Review of Mahanati
