When the news of a planned Telugu-Tamil biopic on legendary southern actor Savitri came out recently, much of the buzz was over the news that Vidya Balan had been approached to play the titular character. Titled “Mahanati”, the film will be helmed by Nag Ashwin, who made his directorial debut with “Yevade Subramanyam” last year. The bilingual film is set be a grand period film with massive set pieces.

However, contrary to reports, Vidya will not be playing the title character. Director Ashwin has said that he hasn’t approached any actors yet and that he’s still busy finalizing the script. Although he’s interested in approaching Malayalam actor Parvathy, said Ashwin, he has not initiated any talks yet. He also revealed that he plans to organize a poll to find out which actress fans would want playing the veteran.

A very popular southern artist in the 1950s and 1960s, Savitri was considered the first female superstar of Indian cinema. Besides donning the greasepaint in films such as “Devadasu”, “Missamma”, “Penin Perumai”, “Pasa Malar”, “Bhale Ramudu”, “Thodi Kodallu”, “Mayabazaar” and “Gundamma Katha”, Savitri also directed films like “Chinnari Papalu”, “Chiranjeevi” and “Mathru Devatha”. She was even a popular playback singer.

(Content provided by Digital Native)