Shaakuntalam, directed by Gunasekhar, starring Dev Mohan and Samantha in the lead roles has hit the screens today. The movie is an adaptation of the popular play Abhigyana Shakuntalam, written by the ancient Indian poet Kalidasa. Dev Mohan portrays the character of King Dushyant, while Samantha plays the role of Shakuntala. The film is produced by Neelima Guna under the banner of Gunaa Teamworks. The movie also features prominent actors such as Mohan Babu, Prakash Raj, Ananya Nagalla, Gautami, Aditi Balan, and Jisshu Sengupta in pivotal roles. The music for the movie is composed by Mani Sharma.
Despite the promising cast and crew, the initial reviews of the film are not encouraging. The special effects in the movie fail to impress the audience, giving a cartoonish feel to the reality scenes, especially the war sequences. The drama element seems out of place and fails to connect with the audience emotionally. The dialogues, while attempting to be poetic, come across as dull and lack impact.
Although the film has not received favorable reviews, it is attracting good occupancy in theaters. The latest news is that Amazon Prime Video has acquired the digital rights and plans to release it in the first week of May. Shaakuntalam is a high-budget movie, and it remains to be seen how it performs at the box office.
