Keerthy Suresh has proved her mettle as an actress in the recently released Savitri biopic Mahanati (Nadigaiyar Thilagam in Tamil) where the actress played the late superstar with such grace. With critics and audiences lauding her performance, it’s clear that the actress has finally shed her cute-girl image and has embraced a more mature persona on screen.

The actress won a National Award as the best actress for her excellent performance in the biopic. However, Keerthy was not the first choice for this film. In fact, it was Keerthy Suresh that replaced Nithya Menen in the film. But Nithya Menen was not the first choice either. It was Amala Paul who was the first choice for the role of the legendary Savithri. In an interview with a Telugu portal, she said, “I was going through some personal issues then and that’s why I couldn’t do Mahanati. But it’s true that I was the first one to be approached by Mahanati makers to play Savitri.”

Well, Amala might have missed one of the best roles of her career.

Keerthy Suresh had also spoken about how she was about to reject the film too. She said that she was doubtful about her being able to play and justify the role of Savitri. She felt over whelemed and intially declined her offer by director Nag Ashwin.  The movie however was a box office hit and also won several awards.  Keerthy Suresh further added that she is glad that director Nag Ashwin decided to cast her in the film in spite of her declining the film in the first attempt.