Keerthy Suresh initially rejected Mahanati after a four-hour narration; producers wondered, ‘Who would say no to a Savitri amma biopic?!’

Although Keerthy Suresh had already appeared in 12 films within five years of her debut as a lead actor, all of them were commercial entertainers centred around male protagonists and none of these projects explored her hidden potential the way director Nag Ashwin’s Mahanati (2018) did. Based on the life of legendary actor-filmmaker Savitri, Keerthy delivered a stunning performance in the lead role, earning her first National Film Award for Best Actress. But did you know Keerthy initially turned down the project after hearing its narration? The actor recently shared why she chose not to be part of the film at first, after sitting through a four-hour-long narration.

“Initially, when Nagi (director Nag Ashwin) offered it to me, I turned it down. I heard the narration for about four hours. Swapna Dutt and Priyanka Dutt, the producers, were very excited. After hearing the narration, I turned down the offer. Swapna and Priyanka were shocked and were like, ‘What is this girl? She turned down an offer to do a Savitri amma’s biopic?!’ But I turned it down only because I was scared. Some random girl coming from somewhere and suddenly doing a biopic on a legend… What if they say I ruined it? I couldn’t think of anything else positive. I was extremely scared,” she shared during a chat with Galatta India.

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Despite her reservations, Keerthy shared that Nag Ashwin and the producers remained confident in her abilities and encouraged her to join the project. “Nagi was extremely confident. I said, ‘We have to show a lot of her personal side. What if her fans don’t like it? Or if it is taken in the wrong way?’ But they were very confident. The fact that Nagi’s trust in me was more than what I had in myself was what actually drew me to do that film.”

Reflecting on the film’s impact, Keerthy described Mahanati as a career-defining moment. However, she admitted to having minimal expectations while working on it. “No matter how many films I do in future, I will never get back that feeling (of experiencing massive success for the first time with Mahanati). I didn’t expect anything from the movie except a decent name: ‘This girl did a decent job, and the film is good. ‘ I kept my expectations very low and I really didn’t know this film was going to be so huge. When the movie finally released on May 9, 2018, and became a hit, it was a beautiful feeling that one would get only once in a lifetime.”