Mahanati depicts the life and career of one of Telugu cinema's greatest and most iconic starlets, the first Indian female super star, Savitri.
Acting
Keerthy Suresh doesn't play Savitri — she resurrects her.
Production
Recreated 1950s Madras film sets with obsessive period detail.
Cinematography
Black-and-white sequences melt into color like fractured memories.
Director
Nag Ashwin
Keerthy Suresh
Savitri
Dulquer Salmaan
Gemini Ganesan
Samantha Ruth Prabhu
Madhura Vani
Vijay Deverakonda
Vijay Anthony
Prakash Raj
Aluri Chakrapani
Shalini Pandey
Susheela
Mohan Babu
S.V. Ranga Rao
Radha Krishna Jagarlamudi
K. V. Reddy
Mahesh Achanta
Satyam
Tharun Bhascker
Singeetham Srinivasa Rao
Malavika Nair
Alamelu
Sai Madhav Burra
Pingali Nagendra Rao
Sandeep Reddy Vanga
Vedantam Raghavaiah
Srinivas Avasarala
L. V. Prasad
Naga Chaitanya Akkineni
Akkineni Nageswara Rao
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Keerthy Suresh gained 20kg and learned classical dance for two years; Savitri's actual relatives wept on set believing she'd returned.
Savitri was the first female South Indian star to command equal pay and direct — her fall coincided with the industry's pivot to male-driven masala cinema.
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