There’s something about Keerthy Suresh that makes you fall in love with her. That smile? Those eyes? Or that girl-next-door daintiness? “I don’t know,” she dimples up… But then, her climb to fame was lightning quick; there she was, a newbie, and the next thing we knew, she’d bagged films with all the leading stars and joined the top league. But Keerthy plays it down, with, “I don’t think about all this. I just do my work.” Talking of which, work, for now, for Keerthy, is all about playing the yesteryear legend, Savitri, onscreen, in Mahanati. And though she has a slew of projects in her petite hands, Keerthy says she’s looking to work more. And that’s the way this conversation goes, with her telling us about her day at work, and what she does when she’s chilling out…
How’s it playing Savitri on screen?
Initially, it used to take a lot of time to get ready — just the makeup would take about three-and-a-half hours sometimes. But now, I am used to it, and sort of anticipate that time, to get into the character…
How does it feel?
It is definitely something to be proud of. When I signed on for the movie, I had some knowledge of how big she was — I had seen her perform on screen as well. But once I had taken on the project, I met a lot of people who came across to me and told me more about the film, and about her. All of them had something or other to talk about her — and that made me look at her from a totally different perspective. Made me understand her value in the industry, and after that, I was much more candid with a lot of people who gave me suggestions. I realised I am doing something to be really proud of, but at the same time, something to be scared about.
Scared?
Yeah. To portray a legend like her is not easy. There were a lot of scenes that had to be replicated, and as it is the journey of a great personality, they had to be impeccable. There were a few scenes that had me go really mad. I want to be as exactly her as I can — but I also know that that cannot happen, so, we have to try and do our bit. Also, most people, when they talk to me about Savitri, they talk of what they have seen of her on screen. But since it’s a biopic, I also have to portray her in her real life. That is the tricky part. At times, I have to be totally her, and at times, I have the liberty of bringing in a bit of me, into her character.
Meaning?
This is her story — story of how she used to be herself in her personal life, and the other part is her screen persona, the movies she’s acted in, the characters she has played… For example, one of the most important movies of her life was Maya Bazaar — it was an exciting break for Savitri in her career, so we had to replicate like, half a song from that movie. It had to be exact, the angle, the shot, the set, the music, my costume, my look… all had to be just how it was in that song in that movie. So, this replicating bit is very nerve wracking. But when I play her real life, I can put in my own style, give my own inputs into the character. But with those replication scenes, I am like even if I can reach 90 per cent of what she has done, and director Nagi (Nag Ashwin) says OK, I don’t get satisfied. I keep trying again and again. So, it takes a lot of time to get right small nuances here and there. After the whole scene is over and you get back home, it feels nice to be doing such an awesome movie, but at that moment, when you are right in the middle of the scene, it’s tremendous pressure of responsibility on me. For instance, we shot that Maya Bazaar scene in like over 2-3 days.
Did you speak to anyone in her family?
Yes, I spoke to her daughter. She shared some of the mannerisms and characteristics of her mother with me. Fortunately, I realised we have a few things in common – that intrigued me no end. Savitri’s daughter spoke about her mother, describing things about her, the mother-daughter bond they shared… And later, she sent me a huge message about her mother… it was about four pages in all, I think. And I marked those things similar between us — Savitri used to swim. I love swimming. We both drink tea. She played cricket, and I used to play cricket in school. She loved driving cars, and I do, too… so, a lot of things like these…
