Reign Again, Mahanati

The unveiling of Savitri바카라�s statue in Guntur last year was a telling event, one where the icon바카라�s overarching legacy was being claimed by speaker after spea­ker. While some proudly exp­ressed how she was the 바카라�daughter바카라� of Andhra and Telugu cinema바카라�s greatest jewel, Tamil actress Suhasini, who unveiled the statue, had the last word in this proprietary tussle. 바카라�She might be your daughter, but she settled down as our daughter-in-law in Tamil Nadu,바카라� she quipped.

That is how intensely the Telugus and Tamils competed to stake claim to Savitri바카라�s rich legacy. No other actor in South India has straddled the cinema of two states and languages with such ease and dominance as Savitri did during the 50s and 60s. She was adored as 바카라�Mah­anati 바카라� (great actress) by her Telugu fans and the Tamil aud­ience equated her with their king of ­acting, Sivaji Ganesan, by giving her the honorific 바카라�Nadigaiyar Thilagam바카라� (the pride of actresses). Sivaji was 바카라�Nadigar Thilagam.바카라� Savitri enthr­alled audiences of other sates as well바카라�she did films in Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi, but her presence in Tamil and Telugu cinema was phenomenal.

No wonder then that her biopic is also bilingual 바카라�it바카라�s titled Mahanati in Telugu and Nadigaiyar Thilagam in Tamil. 바카라�Savitri was a bilingual superstar and needs to be celebrated in both the languages in which she had done more than hundred films each,바카라� said Nag Ashwin, the director of the biopic.

바카라�So many film makers had approached us wanting to make a documentary or a movie on her life, but we had resisted their overtures as we were so sick of all the rumours about Amma바카라�s life, especially her last years,바카라� disclosed Vijaya Chamundeeswari, Savitri바카라�s daughter. 바카라�But Ashwin, who is married into a respected family of Telugu film makers, promised that the script would be vetted by us to avoid any misrepresentation,바카라�

Ashwin had a tough task ahead of him바카라�to recreate both the magic of Savitri바카라�s cinematic performance and her personal life, which was never ­devoid of drama. 바카라�So, we decided to cover her entire life, of course compressed into 150 minutes, the ups as well as the downs. There is so much of urban legend spun around her final years that we had to tread carefully, sifting fact from fiction,바카라� said Ashwin.

The film dwells substantially on the chemistry between Savitri and Gemini Ganesan, whom she married in her early 20s soon after stepping into Tamil cinema. 바카라�Her days with Gemini were her happiest, especially when the couple spent time together at the bungalow in Kodaikanal,바카라� recalled veteran actor A.R. Srinivasan. 바카라�They had many common interests. She was like a happy child in his company; chirpy and all mischief. It did not matter that Gemini was already married, 16-years-older to her and was even having an affair with Pushpavalli. Savitri바카라�s world consisted of Gemini and their children,바카라� surmised the actor, adding: 바카라�Savitri was the only filmstar with a swimming pool in her house. She was so fond of swimming.바카라�

Ashwin chose to cast Malayalam sup­erstar Mam­­m­ootty바카라�s son Dulq­uer Salmaan as Gemini Gan­esan, as he 바카라�wore Gem­­ini바카라�s poli­shed charm with ease바카라�. 바카라�Since Gem­ini and Savitri were the first celebrity couple of South Indian cinema I needed someone to capture Gemini바카라�s romantic looks and appeal,바카라� observed Ashwin. But identifying the heroine proved to be a much more difficult task. Finally, after many screen tests, he pinned down Keerthi Suresh, also a Malayalam actress but with forays into Tamil and Telugu films. 바카라�Keerthi proved to be a surprise package as she quickly got under the skin of Savitri. Her resemblance to Savitri and charming screen presence came in very handy,바카라� said the director.

Keerthi thinks of her role as every ­actor바카라�s dream role: 바카라�Playing a legend and living up to her aura was emotionally demanding but equally satisfying. I prepared by watching one film starring Savitri ma바카라�am every day and talked to her family members and fellow actors who had known her in person. It helped that like her바카라�I too like swimming, driving and sports. I am so lucky to do such a role so early in my career,바카라� she said.

To capture Savitri in various stages of her life, Mahanati바카라�s cinematographer Dani Sanchez-Lopez had to juggle with special lighting and a range of lens. Keerthi too had to wear prosthetic makeup to portray a plump Savitri. The legend had gained a lot of weight ­towards the end of her ­career. To show this posed a challenge for the film makers, but they overcame it. Keerthi had to wear more than a hundred costumes as she flitted ­between the many looks of Savitri over the decades. 바카라�When I saw the completed movie during dubbing, I was in tears,바카라� confessed Keerthi.

Ashwin wants the film to be a celebration of the artiste and her stardom. 바카라�Savitri was the only heroine who could measure up to Sivaji바카라�expression for expression and dialogue for dialogue,바카라� observed actor Kavithalaya Krishnan. 바카라�In the film Navarathiri, Sivaji would have played nine roles, but Savithri who encounters all the nine would challenge Sivaji histrionically. So much so that Sivaji commented that if he had not been alert, she would have gobbled him up.바카라�

She was also the only actress who, shattering the industry바카라�s bias, stayed in demand even after childbirth. 바카라�The main reason that people came to see her act and emote was her command over her craft. True, she was largely typecast as a tragedy queen, but you must see Navarathiri and Maya­bazar for a sampling of her impish streak. Since the audience of her time revelled in melodrama, she was often the first choice of producers in such tearjerkers. But she loved the comic roles she did, playing characters which were closer to her personality,바카라� recalled Savitri바카라�s daughter Vijaya.

When her career stumbled, owing to losses incurred by producing films and alleged alcoholism, some of her on-screen image of a tragedy queen got supplanted to her real life as well. 바카라�The media went to town about her split with Gemini Ganesan, her financial woes and her health problems, painting a picture of tragedy descending on her in real life too. It happened to Meena Kumari in the North and to Savitri in the South. Rather than celebrate a great talent, so much negativism got infused into her life by those in the film industry and the media,바카라� rued Srinivasan.

Sowcar Janaki, a contemporary of Savitri and a star of the times in her own right, acted with Savitri in her last Kannada film, the one that she could not complete. The film was ironically titled Aaarada Gaaya (Unhealed Wound). Janaki, who remembers Savitri as a brilliant actress, observed that 바카라�her fall was equally steep due to her wrong decision to produce films.바카라� Janaki has also rubbed shoulders with Savitri in Telugu, Tamil and other Kannada films. 바카라�Her drinking problem too proved to be a curse,바카라� added Janaki. 바카라�I remember how she had left the shoot halfway during the filming of Aarada Gaaya. Incidentally we acted together in that movie. She left after I had just cooked her lunch. That is the last I saw of Savitri. I will ­always cherish her memory.바카라� The film was rel­eased without Savitri in 1980. Soon after, Savitri went into a diabetic coma that lasted 19 months before she died in December 1981 at the age of 46.

Rubbishing the stories spun by the media around their mother at the time of her death, Vijaya and her brother, Sathish, say that Savitri did not die a destitute person and that she was not deserted by Gemini Ganesan. 바카라�My ­father and his first wife took care of her and us,바카라� says Sathish. 바카라�Too many awful stories were spun around her to sell magazines. One famous woman author even wrote that she breathed her last on a rickety wooden cot uncared for inside a hut. My father had got her a special medical bed to prevent bed sores and she passed away, she was surrounded by her near ones. I am sure that after so many years of her demise, the public will finally learn the truth about her through the biopic.바카라�

By G.C. Shekhar in Chennai