Keerthy Suresh was scared to play Savitri
The actress says that she was under pressure to perform at her best; she even took lessons to improve her Telugu diction.
Keerthy Suresh, who has played the role of Savitri in the upcoming film Mahanati, says that she was under a lot of pressure to perform at her best. “People kept telling me that I was very lucky to have been chosen to play the role of Savitri, and their comments scared me. I felt the pressure to work even harder than usual. I took up to 20 takes to perfect a scene,” she says.
The actor says that not all of Savitri’s films find mention in her biopic. “Though we have mentioned a few films, we have concentrated on her personal life. We approached her daughter Chamundeswari for inputs,” she reveals.
The filmmakers learnt that Savitri used to play cricket in her childhood, and she enjoyed swimming and driving. “I also enjoy all of those things. The books I read about Savitri helped me create an image of her in my mind, and my director, Nag Ashwin, also gave me valuable inputs,” says Keerthy.
The actress has dubbed her own lines in the movie. “I took a two-month training course to improve my Telugu diction. While acting, you don’t need to speak pure Telugu, but while dubbing, you do, and it’s very difficult. I took a lot of time to dub my dialogues,” she says.