Mahanati Review: Go with Savitri in Mind –Come with Keerthi as Memory!
QUICK SCAN
Rating: 3.75/5
First Impression: Savitri relives as Keerthi Suresh both in appearance and performance. This bio-pic is loyal rendering of Savitri’s life without staking entertainment.
Plus points:
- Keerthi Suresh gives an impression that Savitri is reborn at least for 2hours.
- Dulquer Salmaan as Gemin Ganeshan transforms from a lover boy to professional rival to Savitri with amazing ease.
- Rajendra Prasad’s role as Savitri’s paternal uncle brilliantly blends comedy and tragedy throughout the movie. He is at his best, when he comes to see her when she is hospitalised.
- Cameo appearances of Mohan Babu (as SV Ranga Rao), Nag Chaitanya (as ANR) and Prakash Raj( as Chkrapani) throw pleasant surprises.
Pitfalls:
- Drab love track of Samantha (Reporter) and Vijay Deverakonda(photographer)
- Melancholic narrative in the second half takes away the promising mood set in the first half.
- The Climax and the end fail to take away the audience’s emotion to the pinnacle and give the finishing of a documentary film.
Movie: Mahanati Banner: Swapna Cinema and Vyjayanthi Movies Cast: Keerthy Suresh, Dulquer Salmaan, Rajendar Prasad, Samantha Akkineni, Vijay Deverakonda,Tanikella Bharan, Mohan Babu, , Malavika Nair, Bhanu Priya, Shalini Pandey, Divya Vani, Srinivas Avasarala and Naga Chaitanya Cinematography: Dani Dialogues: Sai Madhav Burra Music: Mickey J Meyer Editor: Kotagiri Venkateshwara Rao Production Design: Shivam, Avinash Producer: Priyanka Dutt Written and directed by: Nag Ashwin Release date: May 9, 2018
Plot: From Beginning to End
The life of South Indian female star,Savitri, unravels with the research of a female journalist, Madhuravani(Samantha Akkineni). His colleague and a press photographer, Vijay Anthony (Vijay Devarakonda) sojourns with her in tracking people and papers to write Savitri’s story. Savitri’s maternal aunt (Bhanupriya) narrates the major part of the Story. All those, who have read her biography, know pathetic her life was in her last days. The way the film travels from the known end to unknown opening is really captivating in the first half.
Story: Savitri Sees Mentor, Lover and Villian in One Person
Had Gemini Ganeshan not traced Savitri, she would not have appeared on the silver screen. He stands not only as the alpha but remained the omega of her career. He quickly falls in love with his charms and leisurely reveals that she has a wife and two children. He admits anther affair with another co-star. But he makes Savitri believes that his heart beats for her alone. He asks her to his second wife. In a dramatic way, Gemini Ganeshan’s first wife gives her nod to this new arrangement. But things start turning worse, when Savitri’s stardom grows leaps and bounds. Gemini Ganeshan feels jealous of her. How his envy causes the gap between the two is the rest of the story.
Treatment: Once Upon ‘Two Times’
The film is set in two ‘pasts’(periods). One: The life and times of Savitri, Two: The time of Samanta’s and Vijay Deverakonda’s journalistic research. The costumes of Savitri and Gemini Ganesh set the old period intact. Ajay Deverkonda’s hippy haircut, and his long collared short and Bellbottom trousers keep the period at late seventies and early eighties. These two periods have helped the director to run real life and ‘reel’life simultaneously.
Screen play: Songs Run Story
Interchangeably, the scenes loiter between the two pasts and make the story move captivatingly. Lyrics from Savitri’s hit films (like Maayabazaar, Devdas and Missamma) have been re-enacted to enable the movie move entertainingly.
Lead Role : Keerthi Thy Name is Savitri
Keerthi Suresh is at her best in displaying Savitri’s grace and emulating her mannerisms, particularly the way she smiles and walks. Though Savitri’s style of acting his inimitable, Keerthi comes almost close to her style. When she wails alone and loses her cool in Gemini Ganeshan’s presence, Keerthi’s performance is outstanding. The audience do not have an iota of doubt in any frame that she is not Savitri. Throughout the film one feeling haunts us: Savitri comes alive. 
Others in Cast: New Directors Set in Old Times
Though Krish’ appearance as KV Reddy and Srinivas Avasarala’s cut as LV Prasad are short, they make the impact uncompromising directors of yesteryears.
Dialogues: Rich in Sound and Poor in Impact
Dialogues in many scenes sound more like moral preaching. Though the writer (Sai Madhav Burra) tries his best to turn philosophical hither and thither, he couldn’t register them. However, the intimate love between Gemini and Savitri has been reasonably demonstrated through dialogues. But the dialogues fail to rise to the mood, when Gemini Ganeshan declares Savitri as his wife standing atop a tram.
Cinematography: Not Lights but Camera on
It’s reasonably good. While visualising inside view of the kitchen in the days when no village was electrified, the photographer does his best. While re-enacting the sense from the Black and White era, Dani simply does magic with lens.
Music: Plays Time Back
Mickey J Meyer’s back ground score gives soothing effect. Though his composition for song is outstanding, no lyric stands out with a tune that lingers on and on. The problem is not with his craft. He needs to low lie amid hit tunes of Savitri’s films that run over the entire film. He leaves his musical bang for change of every important scene.
Pitfalls: Second Half Slips into Documentary Mode
The film loses its grip in the second half. Without clearly knowing the persons behind her steep economic fall, she draws blank. Gemini Ganesh tries to alert her in the middle much to her dislike. It’s true any film maker is caged in reality while handling a bio-pic. Nag Ashwin is no exception. It seems he is extra loyal to Savitri’s life. This is found in the latter half of the film.
Bottom line:
It’s wrong to say that Keerthi Suresh resembles Savitri. The truth is that Savitri looks like Keerthi Suresh.
