Acting is an art for sure. But to show a difference between stage acting and silver screen acting is even a greater form of art! Savitri is one actress who knew this great fact. That is why she is not just an actress but ‘Mahanati’. Movie cameras used to compete with each other to get the best out of her- in terms of expressions, unsaid emotions and great screen presence. Her amazing facial features like a full moon on a pleasant night attracted the audience to watch her on screen those days. Not only for Telugu or Tamil audience, Savitri is an actress who is a boon to Indian Cinema as well. Her name has to be written with golden palette in the history of Indian Cinema.

Savitri was born as the younger daughter to Nissankara Guravayya and Subhadramma. Savitri’s elder sister’s name is Maruthi. Guravayya belonged to Chintalapudi, a village near to Tenali, Guntur District. He was a businessman who used to tell Harikathas in spare time. He also used to play harmonium for stage plays. Perhaps this might be the reason how Savitri inherited the artistic temperament from her father. Subhadramma left for her second delivery to her hometown Chirrapuru where Savitri was born. She stayed in her parents’ house till Savitri was 6 months old. Right then, a sad news of Guravayya’s demise shocked the family. All the properties fell prey for debts. Without a rupee in her hand, Subhadramma reached Vijayawada along with her two daughters Maruthi and Savitri to her sister Durgamba’s house. Durgamba’s husband Venkataramayya Chowdary was a car driver for a prominent company. For Savitri, who never saw how her father was- used to see her fatherly affection in her uncle.

Savitri was an intelligent girl who had great grasping power. This led her shift focus to learn dance. She began her classical dance training under Sista Poornayya Sastry at age 5 and with no time Savitri earned a great name as a dancer in and around Vijayawada town. Her portrayal as Lord Krishna in the play named ‘Radhakrishna’ and  Nagini (The popular Indian Snake dance) fetched her great name. She was a great fan of ANR those days and used to perform for songs in Baalaraju- an ANR starrer. It was when Savitri got a chance to join Jaggayya’s drama troupe in Vijayawada. Within short span of time she earned phenomenal name in social dramas and happened to discontinue studies in 8th standard.  Prominent film personality Dukkipati Narasimha Rao was amazed seeing her performance and advised Savitri to try in films. Her uncle also considered Savitri to join in films as they can earn more money in return.

Searching for film chances in Madras can be termed as another big breakthrough for Savitri in her life. She acted as heroine in Sadhana Production House film ‘Samsaram’ opposite ANR. But because of tremendous fear, she couldn’t act opposite a stalwart like ANR. As a result, director L.V.Prasad got irritated and took another heroine as Savitri’s replacement. The producer didn’t want Savitri to feel bad and hence gave her a small role in the same film. Her line was ,”Abbo, accham hero Nageshwara Rao la unmade” looking at ANR. That was her first ever dialogue in acting career. She wouldn’t have imagined in her wildest dreams that she would act along with the same actor in a competent manner. Despite disappointment for losing a heroine chance in Samsaram, Savitri’s uncle was unnerved with respect to film opportunities. As a result, Savitri was featured in a song for masterpiece film ‘Paatala Bhairavi’. Right when she was looking for the best breakthrough as an actress, ’Devadasu’ came for her rescue. After the success of Devadasu in 1953,  Savitri never looked back in her acting career spanning over nearly 14 years. ‘Missamma’, ‘Kanyasulkam’,’Ardhangi’,’Mayabazar’,’Thodi Kodallu’, ‘Velugu Needalu’,’Mangalya Balam’,’Gundamma Kadha’,’ Manchi Manasulu’, ‘Raktha Sambandham’,’Nartsanasaala’, ‘Mooga Manasulu’,’Sumangali’, ‘Manase Mandiram’- The list would go on! She acted equally with the two pillars of Telugu Cinema- Sr.NTR and ANR. The name Savitri itself was like a golden mine for producers of Telugu and Tamil films.

Savitri’s life as an actress was like a real time festival. Every materialistic treasure became hers in this life. She never wore the same costume or wear the same jewelry in her acting career. Gold, foreign cars, properties- everything luxurious graced her life. But due to her innocence, gullible nature and loving people unconditionally took her to saddening depths of failure as well. She married Gemini Ganesan, a prominent Tamil Hero who was already married by then and was left with nothing in return. With her husband going away from her emotionally, and losing acting chances, she was forced to become a director by the compulsion of few people. She fell prey for debts. With the films getting flopped, she was stuck in losses. To make things worse, Income Tax issues troubled her. In order to forget these problems, she got addicted to alcoholism. It went overboard leading her to health issues and eventually coma. After suffering terribly in that state for a period of one year, Savitri left this world in extremely saddening situations.