Biopics are generally boring as they give us a glimpse of history which most of the audience have not been part of yet, there are gems that stand-out and this film is certainly a stand-out gem. When the life lived is legendary then the best effort must be put not to tamper with that and depict things as close to reality as possible. When drama is inherited the film blossoms but when the drama is fed externally, it falters and this film has a lot of drama within that it did not need any external source or force to build the same. Although the characters of Samantha (Madhuravani) and Vijay Devarakonda (Anthony) add some drama I believed they spoke for the audience.
The film begins on the note that why should anyone be interested or aware of the life lived by Savitri and the answer unfolds in the form of the film and yes it was worth knowing many aspects of her life which were told as fables by our grandparents and now seeing some of those fables on screen was a wonderful experience.
Also, biopics are biased and try to show the protagonist only in good light but this film justifies the fall of the protagonist beautifully. Even in her fall, I did not lose my respect for Savitri gaaru and she stood tall in my eyes. So a lot of credit goes to the writers and mainly director Nag Ashwin for the perfect balancing act.
Of all the departments, I was extremely impressed by casting. Keerthy Suresh has an uncanny resemblance to Savitri gaaru that took me by surprise, Keerthy Suresh perhaps shall win many many best actress awards for her performance. Dulquer Salman was perfectly placed as Gemini Ganesan. He did the dubbing very well and his Telugu accent suited the portrayal of Gemini Ganesan.
The cast is terrific. It has names like veteran actors Prakash Raj, Bhanu Priya, Divyavani, Rajendra Prasad and also the youngsters Srinivas Avasarala, Shalini Pandey, Naga Chaitanya etc.. while the biggest surprise was Mohan Babu as SV Ranga Rao. Mohan Babu gave a subdued and composed performance and it was a delight.
All my applause would go to Nag Ashwin and the producers Swapna and Priyanka for delivering a neat film that resembles yesteryears beautifully and yet has something to offer to the youth of today.
Thank you, Mickey J Meyer, for your background music aided well by violins of Sandilya (I knew that my dear friend Sandilya worked but he was not mentioned in the credits. The reasons are best known to makers) and many other musicians who gave a musical treat. The song "Sada Nannu" rendered by Charulatha Mani is my favorite in the album and will stay forever on my playlist.
My only crib, I wish a few episodes were cut and the song "Mooga Manasulu" felt out of place.
A 4/5 for a classic biopic on a legend.
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