Just a day before the release of the much anticipated biopic Mahanati, the makers on Tuesday revealed the character that Prakash Raj plays in the film. The actor will be essaying the role of late writer, director and producer Alluri Chakrapani, who played a crucial part in shaping the career of yesteryear actor Savitri, on whose life the film is based.
Unveiling the look of @prakashraaj as Chakrapani garu from #Mahanati. Wishing the best to our friends @VyjayanthiFilms for the release tomorrow. https://t.co/sPYzI8YAuB
— S V C (@SVC_official) May 8, 2018
The makers also unveiled several other characters from the biopic. Senior actor Rajendra Prasad will be playing the character of KV Chowdary, actor Shalini Pandey will play Susheela, a childhood friend of Savitri, Malavika Nair will feature as Alamelu, Gemini Ganesan’s first wife, director Krish Jagarlamudi of Vedam fame will play KV Reddy.
Apart from Keerthy Suresh, who will be playing Savitri, the film has a long list of stars such as Samantha Akkineni, Vijay Deverakonda, Dulquer Salman, Prakash Raj, Rajendra Prasad, Mohan Babu and many others.
It was earlier revealed that Samantha plays a journo in this flick and the story is told through her perspective. The film will mark the Telugu debut of Malayalam star Dulquer Salman, who is playing the role of actor Gemini Ganesan. Actor Mohan Babu will play the role of legendary actor SV Ranga Rao.
The bilingual film, shot in both Tamil and Telugu, will be released in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu simultaneously on May 9. In Tamil, the film is titled Nadigaiyar Thilagam.
The film, directed by Nag Aswin, is bankrolled by Vyjayanthi Films. Director of Photography is Spanish technician Dani Sanchez-Lopez while the music for the film has been composed by Mickey J Mayer.
Actor Savitri was a versatile actor who began her acting career in 1950 with the release of Samsaram. She then went on to star in several movies in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi.
The actor ruled both the Tamil and Telugu industry during the 1950s-60s, which was considered the golden age of south Indian cinema. She also won several prestigious awards in her long career before her life ended abruptly due to substance abuse.