Credits

Banner: Swapna Cinema

Cast: Keerthy Suresh, Dulquer Salmaan, Samantha Akkineni, Vijay Devarakonda, Rajendra Prasad, Tanikella Bharani, Malavika Nair, Shalini Pandey, Tulasi, Divya Vani, Naga Chaitanya, Mohan Babu, Prakash Raj

Music: Mickey J Meyer

Cinematographer: Dani Sanchez-Lopez

Lyrics: Sirivennela Seetharama Sastry & Ramajogayya Sastry

Costume Design: Gaurang Shah and Archana Rao

Dialogues: Sai Madhav Burra

Production Design: Shivam Rao

Art Director: Avinash Kolla

Editor: Kotagiri Venkateswara Rao

Written & Direction: Nag Ashwin

Producers: C Ashwini Dutt, Swapna Dutt, Priyanka Dutt

Release Date: May 9th, 2018

Writing/Direction:

Obviously this is the biopic of the greatest Indian actress of all time and Nag Ashwin chooses a back and forth screenplay meaning it runs on two parallels: the past and the present.

Generally with these types of movies, they tend to test your patience and confuse you but here its brilliantly done and so seamless.

You can look at this movie in so many different ways but much like the story I’ll talk about it in two ways: a biopic and its actually a mass movie at the same time.

So usually in films biopics are whitewashed which means you purposefully dont know the flaws or bas things about someone to glorify them.

That’s where mahanati gets things right in that it elevates Savitri garu but also shows her flaws as a person which led to her downfall.

Why I see it as a movie mass is because it has everything you’d expect from a mass commercial film and also because mahanati has the rare distinction of appealing to literally everybody.

It is about the period that made Telugu cinema famous so literally from old people to young people even those who dont know Savitri, they will enjoy the movie. Naresh gives that elevation in the movie about it:

It has amazing music, it has comedy, it has romance, it has the best drama, it has emotion and most of all it has highs, not one but so many goosebumps moments and elevations. Movie has so many elevations I lost count but here they are:

Intro scene itself crowd comes and they ask who is this Mahanati and the scene comes
Naresh speaking about Savitiri
Savitri intro on sets of KV Reddy film
What KV Reddy says to her after that
NTR introduction, Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao ee peru guthu pettukovali
Savtiri being praised for her performance in Tamil film leading into Sada Nannu song and whole Sada Nannu song
Their marriage scene temple in temple due to the Veena in BGM and dialogues: jeevitham lo natinchachu gaani, jeevithani natinchalemu
Misamma scene all time classic movie
Entire Mooga Manasulu song
Chakrapani comes and says: neeku cinemalu asavarasam vunappudu cinemalu nee avasaram teeruchindi gaa, ippudu cinema ki nuvvu avasarama, Rama Rao Krishnudu, Nageswara Rao Abhimanyudu, cinema peru MAyabazar the greatest telugu movie ever made, unlimited goosebumps
Entire MAhanati song: old man giving namaskaram, SVR saying today is scene with Savitri give me the scene paper, and Chakrapani saying everybody waits for NTR, ANR, and Sibaji Ganesan dates but all of these guys wait for Savtiri’s dates
Sivaji Ganesan always likes Savitri but he gets jealous of her success and then starts drinking to get out of the sadness. Then he tells her to do the same so she does.
Movie premiere she comes home and then in rain says im now Savitri Ganesan
Fire scene and entire Chivareki Migiledi scene
Climax scene and last shot. End credits.

I usually dont cry in movies. But the last 30 minutes made me cry and climax scene and credits made me cry a lot. It’s so sad knowing that the greatest actress who ever lived is not with us anymore.

Direction by Nag Ashwin is perfect. This movie is a masterclass in storytelling and it a classic. From writing, direction, and all technicalities, it is flawless. These are the types of movie they should make on a weekly basis meaning this range or quality in Telugu instead we get such rod films almost every week.