[73] A new poster featuring Devarakonda and Samantha was released on 13 April 2018. And this is what the team of Mahanati delivers to the audience. "When she was younger, there was a certain mood and a certain way she behaved and the way the world was around her.". [101], On the day of its premiere show, celebrities such as directors Atlee, S. S. Rajamouli and actor and producer Ram Charan, heaped praise on the team,[102] which Rajamouli stated that he is a fan of Dulquer's acting,[103] and Ram Charan also praising the team for making the tremendous biopic. You might get all that you are looking for but it is not the same as reading an in-depth book about the same person". [17] She won the Special Jury Award at Norway Tamil Film Festival Awards.[18]. They learn that Savitri has diabetes. The 80s setting for the journalists to find out and tell the story of the Mahanati has gone to a waste with Samantha and Vijay Devarakonda who aren't convincing enough and feels out of place. So, that way, it's a unique biopic because not many people do a full circle," explained Ashwin, applauding Keerthy for having undergone a lot of transformations for her look in the film. [27][28] Samantha was the first lead actor to be cast in the film during December 2016 and revealed she would portray a character from whose point of view the story is narrated, rather than the role of Savitri. Madhuravani realizes her love for Anthony via Savitri's story. The costumes and the sets need a special mention for beautifully recreating the 1940s and 80s."[96]. Samantha Akkineni, Vijay Deverakonda, Shalini Pandey, Rajendra Prasad, Prakash Raj and Bhanupriya appear in supporting roles, while Naga Chaitanya and Mohan Babu, play guest appearances in the film. So whether it was a lead or non-lead, people became a part of it without inhibitions.". Mythily Ramachandran of Gulf News on reviewing the film wrote that " Behind the facade of celluloid glamour and fame, lay a deeply hurt soul, who lived with her dignity and honesty intact. Such an incredible story, and so beautifully told. Those around her did. "[86], Suresh Kavirayani, in his review for Deccan Chronicle, gave the film four stars out of five and praised the aspects of production, writing, "Avish deserves a pat on the back for creating the right atmosphere and old-world feel, and Mickey J. Mayer's music and background score elevate the film". The resemblance to the late actress is striking and so is the infectious laughter, which she seems to have mastered. Sure to captivate, Mahanati is a fine piece of film which will be lauded by cinema enthusiasts. It brings to life an effervescent girl, who longs to know how her late father looked like, is so overawed by the thought of sharing screen space with Akkineni Nageswara Rao (played by his grandson Naga Chaitanya) that she goofs up the scene and cannot make sense of the praise Prithviraj Kapoor showers on her in Hindi. Feeling cheated, she angrily refuses to talk to him and shuts him out of their house. As Mahanati is getting ready for release, here is a look at the story of Savitri and Gemini Ganesan, one of the most controversial and iconic couples who made their mark off screen and on screen. [70] Later, on 6 December 2017, on the occasion of Savitri's birthday, the makers released the logo video of Mahanati on YouTube. [37][38] Keerthy and Savitri's daughter held conversations for working on the film. [31] Subsequently, Keerthy Suresh was cast in the lead role of Savitri in early January 2017.