The film also stars Samantha Ruth Prabhu and Vijay Deverakonda, while Rajendra Prasad, Bhanupriya, Divyavani, Mohan Babu and Prakash Raj appear in supporting roles.

The plot follows Savitri's life, depicting her turbulent rise to prominence, marriage with Ganesan, and subsequent fall from grace, which is viewed from the perspective of a journalist and a photographer, played by Samantha and Deverakonda respectively.

Its principal photography began in May 2017 and ended in March 2018 with filming taking place in Hyderabad, Palakollu, Bangalore, Chennai, Mysore, and Delhi.

The great actress) Mahanati received universal critical acclaim for Keerthy's performance as Savitri and Ashwin's screenplay and direction.

He tries to have Savitri join the film industry based in Madras but her young age and inability to speak Tamil hinder her prospects.

Meanwhile, her mother dies, and poor financial decisions lead to a raid by the Income Tax Department, resulting in the loss of her wealth.

One day, Savitri fights with her daughter about her excessive alcohol consumption and faints, accidentally setting their house on fire.

He spent six months researching the actress by reading articles and books, in addition to meeting old journalists and actors associated with her.

"[4] In another interview to India Today, Ashwin told that choosing to make Mahanati was more of a subconscious decision, as he grew up watching her films and songs.

[15][16] For the role of Savitri's husband Gemini Ganesan, Ashwin has considered Suriya and Madhavan, before finalising Dulquer Salmaan for the character.

[18][16] Ashwin told Indo-Asian News Service that Salmaan's portrayal of Ganesan would go beyond the physical resemblance, to better depict the character's emotional side.

Other appearances include Prakash Raj as Aluri Chakrapani, Krish as K. V. Reddy, and Srinivas Avasarala as L. V. Prasad among others.

[16] Sai Madhav Burra who gave the dialogue for the film, makes a cameo appearance as writer Pingali.

[23][24] Filming also took place in Palakollu of West Godavari district to picturise Savitri's childhood, in addition to Bangalore, Chennai, Mysore, and Delhi.

[26] Singeetam Srinivasa Rao who worked as an assistant director for Mayabazar visited the sets when they were shooting scenes related to that film.

[27][28] Madhuravani's storyline which takes place in the 1980s was shot on film stock, using a super 16mm camera to achieve a grainy texture.

Cinematographer Sanchez-Lopez explained that the decision was consciously made to match the Technicolor format used in the Indian films of that period.

To give a vintage look for the jewellery, designer Naveen Sangli used old methods such as gold wire wrapping and dainty stone setting.

[citation needed] The full album of Mahanati was released on 1 May 2018 at a launch event, featuring the entire cast and crew.

[38] The film's structure broadly follows that of Orson Welles' Citizen Kane (1941), where a reporter sets out to find the story of an elderly protagonist.

It is reported that the character was inspired by Sivasankari, a journalist and writer of Ananda Vikatan magazine who published an article about Savitri's ill-health and financial position similar to Madhuravani.

Cinema Express' Aditya Shrikrishna noted that the inter-religious romance between Madhuravani and Antony is similar to the one depicted in the Savitri-starrer Missamma (1955).

The scene in which Ganesan takes Savithri's hand on her terrace while her fans below are watching for her is an ode to Mani Ratnam's Iruvar (1997).

[59] Mahanati became the highest-grossing South Indian film that starred a woman as the primary character, surpassing Anushka Shetty's Rudramadevi (2015).

It had a bigger opening in the US than its home territory of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, where it fared low due to the release of other big productions.

[67] Suresh Kavirayani of Deccan Chronicle gave a positive review and praised the aspects of production and writing.

"[68] Krishna Sripada of The News Minute felt that Ashwin had pulled off a stunner by making Savitri's story a "once-in-a-lifetime epic."

"Director Nag Ashwin demonstrates a surprising level of maturity in apportioning flamboyance to the real-life tale," the reviewer wrote.

[71] In his review for Firstpost, Hemnath Kumar gave Mahanati three stars out of five; he felt that the film does not have enough drama and wrote, "It is like reading a Wikipedia page of a famous person.

[73] Writing for Film Companion, Baradwaj Rangan said, "Mahanati, despite its numerous failings, cannot be easily dismissed – because it remembers a forgotten era, whose clips are lovingly recreated via scratchy prints and computerised colour".