It was far from easy to do 'Mahanati'.  For Keerthy Suresh, it was nothing less than a huge challenge.  In this interview, the star actress talks about the experience of doing the biopic, how she approached the role, and more.  The movie releases on May 9.  

How has the journey been with respect to 'Mahanati'?

This biopic is surely a distinct film. It's atypical when compared to all the other movies I have done so far.  I have journeyed with this project for about 1.5 years.  And the director and producers have lived with it for even more.  I got to learn a lot of things about Savitri garu while doing this film.

It must have taken a lot of courage for you to accept the role of Savitri.  How did it start out?

When Nag Ashwin and Priyanka Dutt came to me with the offer, I wondered if I would be able to pull it off.  My first reaction was to say no.  But when the makers insisted, I agreed to listen to the script.  And when I listened to the script, I was frightened.  'How can I enact the role of a great actress like Savitri garu?' I asked myself.  I had second thoughts since I had always done only commercial movies.  I started asking the director many questions. 

How honest is the film?

We have stuck to facts.  But for some commercial aspects, we never took liberties.  Most of the film is about Savitri garu as an actress and a person.  Only 20 percent of the movie is created.  It's enough for the director to watch her movies to show her repertoire in the biopic.  But when it comes to personal life, he had to consult a lot of sources.  Vijay Chamundeswari (Savitri's daughter) is one of the persons the film's unit interacted with.  She told us a lot of things about Savitri garu.  

How close are you to Savitri?

We have some commonalities.  She used to play cricket.  I too used to play the sport in school.  She was fond of swimming, so am I.  She used to drive cars a lot.  I too like it.  In preparing for the role, I happened to read a book on Savitri garu.  It helped me a lot.  After knowing so many things about her, I became imaginative.  

What thoughts crossed your mind while doing the biopic?

Essaying Savitri garu was both a matter of joy and a tense thing.  Wherever I would go, people said that I am very lucky to be playing Savitri garu.  Such comments increased the pressure!  They created fear in me.  I tried to achieve perfection by trying to do each scene for 20-30 times.  Since my mother would talk about Savitri garu at times, I have always felt that she is familiar to me.  She got curious when I signed up to do the film.  She would inquire me about my look, costumes, etc and if everything is apt!  Since she is a senior actress, she told me a lot of things about Savitri garu.  

We have heard a lot about the jewelry.  The costumes, too, are looking great.  What went into the get-up?

I like wearing clothes that are close to our culture.  I am fond of wearing saris.  With 'Mahanati', I had to wear distinct costumes.  Until I completed the look test, I was not confident.  

Was it difficult to do the dubbing?

It needed me to speak in pure Telugu.  After 'Agnyaathavaasi', I have once again dubbed for my film.  And since 'Mahanati' is a much tougher job, I took diction training for two weeks.  When you are acting, you can be easy with the pronunciation.  But dubbing is a different ball game.  Sometimes, I would take 20 attempts to get it right!  Srinivas garu and Sai Madhav Burra garu helped me during dubbing.