Keerthy Suresh is fast emerging as one of the finest heroines in the film industry, and the roles that she has been bagging proves this beyond doubt. The young actor is busy with a slew of films in Tamil and Telugu, and the most challenging role that she has ever done happens to be the role she plays in the bilingual Mahanati / Nadigayar Thilgam, in which she is playing legendary actor Savitri.

Speaking about the film to PTI, Savitri said, “90% of the audience only knows Savitri through her onscreen image. To bring out that difference was the tough part. It’s been a genuinely challenging experience to play Savitri. There are a few sequences from her original films; we have done a scene from Maya Bazaar and a portion of a song from the film. I had to work hard because I cannot use my imagination and have to be completely in her shoes. She was a person who would give 100 expressions in 10 seconds. The way her bold eyes and her lips express an emotion — it is impractical to replicate her precisely. But I wanted to give my best. I have more than 100 costumes (changes) in this film. Savitri’s appearance also changes with age in the film, so we had to go in for a makeover at each stage.”

Directed by Nag Ashwin, the film has a plethora of stars in the cast including Mohan Babu, Dulquer Salmaan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Vijay Deverakonda, Shalini Pandey and Prakash Raj in pivotal roles. It may be noted here that Dulquer plays Savitri’s husband actor Gemini Ganesan in the film, which is being bankrolled by Vyjayanthi Movies.

While this film’s release date is yet to be announced, Keerthy Suresh’s will have two film releases this Sankaranthi – Suriya’s Thaana Serntha Kootam and Pawan Kalyan’s Agnathavasi.