Actress Samantha Ruth Prabhu is reportedly the frontrunner to play legendary actress Savithri in a new biopic. Titled Mahanati, the film will be directed by Nag Ashwin, who made his debut with Yevade Subramaniam.
Earlier, Nithya Menen was in talks to play the role, but the actress eventually backed out citing schedule conflicts.
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According to a report in The New Indian Express, the makers of Mahanati plan to hold an online poll before making their final choice. The actress with the highest votes will get the role of Savithri.
Savitri is widely regarded as one of South Indian Cinema’s finest actresses. She debuted in 195o with the Telugu film Pelli Chesi Choodu and went on to act in over 40 films in Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, and Hindi. She won the Rashtrapati Award in 1960 for Chivaraku Migiledi. Savitri married actor Gemini Ganesan in 1952. In 1981, she succumbed to cancer at the age of 45.