Banner: Gunaa TeamWorks, SVC
Cast: Samantha, Dev Mohan, Allu Arha, Sachin Khedekar, Kabir Bedi, Dr.M Mohan Babu, Prakash Raj, Madhubala, Gautami, Aditi Balan, Ananya Nagalla, Jisshu Sengupta and others
Dialogues: Sai Madhav Burra
Music: Mani Sharma
Editor: Prawin Pudi
DOP: Shekar V Joseph
Art: Ashok
Action: Venkat, King Solomon
Presenter: Dil Raju
Producer: Neelima Guna
Directed by: Gunasekhar
Story :
Shaakuntalam is an adaptation of Kalidasa’s Abhignana Shaakuntalam.It is an epic love story of Shakuntala and King Dushyanta.The story spans from how Shaakuntala ends up in Kanva Maharshi’s ashram, how Dushyant falls for her and does Gandharva marriage He promises to take her to his kingdom later but never comes back.
The pregnant Shakuntala visits him and gets shocked when he denies knowing her.What made him do that and how Shakuntala wins him back is all about
Performances
The main characters of Shaakuntalam are Shakuntala and Dushyant.Samantha plays Shakuntala.It is a brave decision to cast her in the role.Shakuntalam has two shades – Srungara Shakuntala and Atmabhimana Shakuntala in Abignana Shaakuntalam.Samantha put up a fine show in the second portion.
Dev Mohan as Dushanta is not very impressive.Not just him, but other actors like Jishu Sen Gupta, Sachin Khedkar, and Kabir Duhan Singh in their characters appear artificial due to their non-Telugu backgrounds.
Allu Arha (daughter of Allu Arjun) gave one wonderful performance in the role of Bharata.Her presence and the dialogues are very good.
Madhubala, Mohan Babu, Ananya Nagalla, and others did fine in their respective roles.Among all Mohan Babu as furious sage Durvasa made an impact.
Technical Excellence :
Gunasekhar should be commended for his attempt to take mythology closer to millennials.Shaakuntalam is a proper love story, and to mount it on a large canvas like this is a risk.
The brief action sequences in the first half were decent (barring one war), but the war sequence in the second half was a massive disappointment.The tyranny of the Asuras should have been more properly written, and the less said about the VFX, the better.
The poor VFX work, exaggerated poetic dialogues, and an extremely sluggish narration made Shaakuntalam a mess.None of the songs were impressive.The background music is good in parts.The run time of nearly two and a half hours is a bane to Shaakuntalam.
Fundamentally, Shaakuntalam is a love story, but Samantha in the titular role and Dev Mohan, a new face, gave it a feeling of a female-oriented subject.The story of Shakuntala and her love story with King Dushyanta is existential in mythology and there are no tweaks or twists that a filmmaker can do to make it more interesting or otherwise.
It is all about presenting it in a captivating way with great visuals and dialogue.Unfortunately, Shaakuntalam tells us the story in the most boring way possible.
The narration itself is slow and dragged in most parts.The songs could not impress and even break the pace that is already slow.
Samantha looked and acted fine but her utterance of dialogue remains one of the biggest drawbacks.When a seasoned actor like Mohan Babu and a newbie like Allu Arha is pronouncing the words as they should be, the lead actor Samantha’s non-Telugu slang sounded odd and annoying.
Highlights
Dushyanta’s court scene Couple of emotional scenes by Samantha Allu Arha’s portions
Drawbacks
Lack of chemistry No proper emotions Poor VFX Slow narration
Verdict :
Overall, a terribly slow and boring epic tale.
