Nithya Menen is said to have finalised to essay the role of Mahanati Savitri in the veteran actress biopic. Although the names like Vidya Balan, Anushka Shetty did rounds earlier for veteran actress biopic, Nithya apparently beaten both Vidya, Anushka to bag the plum project. The biopic of Savitri will be helmed by Nag Ashwini who made decent debut with Yevade Subramanyam.
Nithya is well-known for her performances and got noticed despite doing only few films. This is said to have impressed the makers to zero in on Nithya. The film will be Telugu-Tamil bilingual as Savitri is equally popular in Tamil, Telugu.
Born on January 4, 1936, Savitri made her acting debut in 1950 Telugu-Tamil drama Samarasam, and went on to star in several classics such as Devadasu, Missamma, Penin Perumai, Pasa Malar, Bhale Ramudu, 'Thodi Kodallu, Mayabazaar and Gundamma Katha. Besides donning the greasepaint, Savitri also directed a few films such as Chinnari Papalu, Chiranjeevi and Mathru Devatha. She was even a popular playback singer. Subsequently, her personal life saw lows and pushed her into depression.
It's learnt that the movie wouldn't touch the dark side of her life and would focus more on the happier times of her and her contribution to cinema. The yet-to-be-titled film would be a tribute to the first lady superstar of Telugu Cinema.