her through her almost two-year coma. This I learned through various accounts online and not through the movie though you do catch glimpses of their love on screen. The movie, however, is not so much about her sorrows as it is of her rejoices. It celebrates her talent, innocence, trust, and un- ending love. You will leave the theater with a wonder at this miracle called Savithri: Her un- believable acting prowess where she could elicit just two drops of tears without glycerin from just one eye and her unconditional joy in living life and enjoying her talent leaves you nourished as a human being. Keerthy Suresh as Savithri is simply stupendous. Many a times I forget that she is not the original Savithri. Her manner- isms, springy movements, smile are all so similar to Savithri with- out making you discern that they are forced or imitated. Rajendra Prasad as her uncle was wonder- ful. Unbeatable. I also could not
houses all over South India, land and jewelry, all down the drain mainly because of her innocent trust and love for fellow human be- ings. Ashwin did a won- derful job of tying Savithri’s emotionality to the audience’s. No
table childhood and ending in her untimely, tragic death, Savithri’s life in waves makes you laugh, squeal, marvel and cry. You marvel in her free spirit that never took a challenge lying down. The director lovingly por- trays her meteoric rise as a star followed by slow yet steady fall, without airbrushing gritty reali- ties. After two kids, a good few years of married life and colossal rise as a star empowered by ex- orbitant amounts of money, Savithri, encouraged by her now jealous and egotistical husband, succumbs to alcohol. Her separa- tion with her cheating husband, her mother ’s untimely death at 52, alcoholism, income tax raids, loss of fortune in movie making, and above all the treacherous backstabbing of her own kith and kin, brings this mighty, beautiful and trusting star crum- bling down. Unimaginable sums of money (out of about 50 films produced per year in South at that time, 25 of them were made with Savithri), including 4 to 5
matter what stage of life she is in, you inherently feel for her. You feel her pain as her husband (who already has a wife, two children -- daughters at that -- and a mistress), her relatives, and her most trusted friends, betray her trust. As her overflowing kindness is fleeced, abused, and tormented, you wonder yourself about good karma. The sense of dejection that surrounds her last ten years of life envelops you as well. I was also intensely touched by the gentle yet deep mother- son bond shown in the film. At 12-14 years of age, Savithri’s son never left her side and stuck to
Keerthy and Dulquer as Savithri and Ganeshan breeze life to the characters without mimicking
53 www.indiaparentmagazine.org
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