Keerthy Suresh to play Savitri in biopic

Chennai: Actress Keerthy Suresh, best known for her work in films such as "Rajini Murugan" and "Nenu Sailaja", will be playing yesteryear legendary southern actress Savitri in an upcoming bilingual biopic.

After names of actresses such as Vidya Balan, Nithya Menen and Anushka Shetty doing the rounds, young Keerthy has grabbed the golden opportunity.

"We have been talks with Keerthy, but she's mostly likely to be part of the project. She's currently out of town and once she's back, we will make an official announcement. We hope to finalise things with her later this week," film's director Nag Ashwin told IANS.

Titled "Mahanati", the film will be made in Tamil and Telugu, and will also feature Samantha Ruth Prabhu in a pivotal role.

It's through the perspective of Samantha, the story of Savitri will be narrated.

Asked why a biopic on Savitri and not on any other popular actress, he said: "There have been countless actresses over the last 80 years in Telugu cinema but none have earned the title of Mahanati, and even today it has solely been reserved for Savitri".

Ashwin still hasn't locked the rest of the cast.

"It'll be a magnum opus period film set in the golden era. With massive set pieces, the film will be unlike anything we've explored in Indian cinema," he said, confirming he's likely to start shooting in the first half of this year.

Born on January 4, 1936, Savitri made her acting debut in 1950 Telugu-Tamil drama "Samsaram", and went on to star in several classics such as "Devadasu", "Missamma", "Penin Perumai", "Pasa Malar", "Bhale Ramudu", "Thodi Kodallu", "Mayabazaar" and "Gundamma Katha".

Besides donning the greasepaint, Savitri also directed a few films such as aceChinnari Papalu", "Chiranjeevi" and "Mathru Devatha". She was even a popular playback singer.