By Online Desk
The Savitri biopic starring Keerthy Suresh and Samantha, which is being made as a Telugu-Tamil bilingual titled Mahanati in Telugu and Nadigaiyar Thilagam in Tamil will hit screens on March 29, 2018.
The news was made official on Wednesday in a video promo to unveil the Nadigaiyar Thilagam logo.
READ | Mahanati review: An emotional masterpiece
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The biopic, being directed by Nag Ashwin under the Vyjayanthi Movies banner, will feature Keerthy Suresh as the south Indian actor, Savitri, and Dulquer Salmaan as Gemini Ganesan, with Samantha Akkineni and Vijay Devarakonda also part of the cast.
Looking at the Savitri’s life, Nag Ashwin is definitely clever to pick up the life story of the actress. Here are 10 points that the popular heroine had an interesting past:
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Actress Savitri’s father died when she was six months old. She was then raised by her uncle and aunt.
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She started dancing and acting in theatre groups at the age of eight.
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When she was 12 years old, she used to dab a little makeup to look older for film auditions, but didn’t get through.
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In 1950 she got her first film offer. She got a lead role alongside Akkineni Nageswara Rao in a movie called “Samsaaram”. But the actress was too nervous and with too many retakes, her role was given to Lakshmi Kantham.
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Interestingly, Savitri managed to swoop in for the lead role in the film “Missamma”. The role was originally supposed to be played by Actress Banumati. However, on one of the shooting days when Banumati did not turn up, the angry producers passed on the role to Savitri.
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For the film Kanyasulkam, Savitri’s Tamil was so fluent that the audience thought she was a Tamilian.
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Though the actress was fond of property and jewellery, she was always generous. She kept her house open for the needy. She was also known for providing financial support for budding actresses.
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The actress’ downfall began around 1969. Her marriage to Gemini Ganesan was falling apart and she became an alcoholic.
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She had a never-ending passion for acting. During shooting for a film called ‘Gorintaku’, her bangles broke and she began bleeding. But that did not stop her from finishing the scene.
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The actress died of substance abuse at the age of 47.
Source: The New Indian Express