So here goes the story, the one that we already know, that of Mahanati is literally the story of Savitri’s life. Her childhood days, yearning for father’s affection, her push into the theatre by her uncle, the struggle of getting into cinema, falling for the already married Gemini Ganeshan, woes that come with stardom, spiraling into alcohol and debts to an untimely end. what captures us are the vintage backgrounds, antique stylings and an enthralling view of what it is like to be present during the 60s.
If there was one thing that struck out as extraordinary it would be Keerthy Suresh’s performance. If anyone had doubts before, they wouldn’t anymore. The romance between the characters of Savitri and Gemini makes one want to shed a tear and rise in anger when he leaves her for another. Dulquer’s Tamil is applaud able but Samantha as a brahmin journalist is absolutely cringe worthy. A unnecessary character originally placed to tie the story together seems to be one loose string straying away from the story. The lip sync of flashbacks and movie scenes are way off from their Telugu counterparts.
Spoiler alert: There is no mention of Karnan, or Thiruvilaiyadal, and Pasa Malar is just a fleeting shot. Overall an average movie with stellar performances, this is the first of its kind to show us vintage cinema from the hippie era, a formula that began with the Hollywood show, Feud:Bette and Joan (based on Bette Davis and Joan Crawford). As far as biopic goes, we got a look into Savtri’s emotions and sentiments through her life and although we could empathize, we are left with gaps in an inconsistent script that would make us come home after the movie to read upon the same from Wiki. This is why it is best to say Mahanati wasn’t so great but we need more of these.
