Mahanati Savitri: Remembering the legend on her 85th birth anniversary

South Indian cinema is paying tribute to its iconic actress Mahanati Savitri on her 85th birth anniversary. She was born on December 6 as Savitri Nissankara.

Mahanati Savitri is one of the actresses who made their name when the industry was male-dominated. South Indian actor Keerthy Suresh reminisced about her by posting an image on social media. In the black-and-white picture, the late actor was posing for the camera while holding a cup and saucer. Keerthy's short caption stated:

"Remembering the legend on her birthday! Thank you for everything Savitri Ma"


Throughout an illustrious career spanning more than three decades, Mahanati Savitri collaborated with multiple industry legends, including NTR and Nageswar Rao in the Telugu film industry, as well as Sivaji Ganesan, MGR, and Gemini Ganesan in Tamil cinema.

In addition to acting, she directed and produced films and contributed as a playback vocalist.

Savitri began her career in the film industry with the LV Prasad-directed film Samsaram. Due to the movie's success, she got a good start in the industry and went on to appear in various renowned movies like Pelli Chesi Choodu, Chivaraku Migiledi, Kalathur Kannamma, Paarthal Pasi Theerum, Kai Koduttha Dheivam, and Navarathri.

Her refusal to conform to archaic, patriarchal social norms—made her even more remarkable and famous. She stayed in the film industry and kept pursuing her career, even after getting married to Gemini Ganesan.

According to reports, her marriage suffered a lot because of the disastrous performances of Gemini's films while she was at the peak of her career. This led to ego conflicts between the couple. Soon, she discovered that Gemini had an extramarital relationship, and they eventually split up.

Unable to cope with such traumatic experiences, she ended up becoming an alcoholic and fell into a coma for 19 months. Savitri passed away at a young age of 44, in 1981.

FAQs

1.Why do people call Savitri "Mahanati"?
The Andhra Mahila Sabha gave her the title of Mahanati for her work in the field of women empowerment.

2. At what age did Savitri marry Gemini Ganeshan?
She married Gemini Ganeshan at the age of 18.