Mahanati, the highly-anticipated biopic on legendary yesteryear Telugu heroine Savithri, is all set for a grand worldwide release on May 9. On this occasion, we caught up with this film’s director Nag Ashwin for a brief interview. Here is the transcript.
Q) Since how many years have you been you planning to make a film Mahanati Savithri?
A) I had this idea since long back but never thought that it will materialize so early in my career. But once I decided to make the film, we did a lot of research on Savithri’s life and made the film. I’m feeling blessed to have directed her biopic.
Q) How did you balance Savithri’s real and reel lives in the film?
A) Her real and reel life both went hand in hand and it made our work easy to an extent. I started developing the script according to those incidents.
Q) Why did you choose Keerthy Suresh for this role?
A) After watching a song in her Tamil film Thodari, we were hopeful that she can pull off Savithri’s role. On the other hand, Keerthy can easily portray both teenage and middle aged roles quite effectively.
Q) You have fixed the film’s runtime as two and a half hours. Isn’t it a challenging task concluding a biopic in two and a half hours?
A) Definitely yes. Due to these restrictions, I left a few portions of her life without showing them in the film.
Q) Where will this story begin and end?
A) The film starts with Savithri gari childhood scenes and continues till the end of her life. We have tried to narrate all the important episodes in her life.
Q) How did you manage to recreate senior NTR’s role in the film?
A) Initially, we approached Tarak for NTR gari role, but it didn’t happen. After a lot of homework, we did a small magic. It will be a treat for the fans to watch senior NTR on screen.
Q) Acting wise, did Keerthy Suresh lived up to your expectations?
A) Yes, cent percentage. She did compete justice to Savithri’s role. After watching the film, audience’s perception towards her will definitely change. I’m sure the respect towards her will increase.
Q) You have worked with many star actors for this film, Tell us about it?
A) Working with seniors like Mohan Babu garu is an unforgettable experience. He is an extremely comfortable actor to work with. Coming to Dulquer Salmaan, he used to be on set ten minutes before the fixed time.
Q) Why did you choose Mickey J Meyer as your music director?
A) Mickey has a lot of experience as a music composer. Moreover, I always had trust in him. After watching the film, you will get to know about his real talent.
Q) In how many languages are you planning to release the film?
A) Initially, we are releasing the film in Telugu and Tamil. Malayalam version’s release date is yet to be announced.