Keerthy Suresh To Put On Weight For Savitri Biopic

Chennai: Actress Keerthy Suresh will put on weight to shoot some portions for her upcoming multilingual film Mahanati which went on floors last week. The actress plays legendary actress Savitri in the biopic.

"Keerthy has already started shooting. She is currently shooting the portion where Savitri was a youngster. She is required to gain weight to play Savitri in her prime when she had serious weight issues but was still loved by audiences," a source said.

Being directed by Nag Ashwin, the film - to be made in Telugu, Tamil and Malayalam - also stars Samantha Ruth Prabhu and Dulquer Salmaan. While Samantha plays a key role, Dulquer will reprise veteran actor Gemini Ganesan, who was married to Savitri.

Keerthy is required to gain weight to play Savitri in her prime when she had serious weight issues

"It'll be a magnum opus period film set in the golden era. With massive set pieces, the film will be unlike anything we've explored in Indian cinema," Ashwin said.

Born on January 4, 1936, Savitri made her acting debut in 1950 Telugu-Tamil drama Samsaram and went on to star in several classics such as Devadasu, Missamma, Penin Perumai, Pasa Malar etc.