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“Shakuntalam” movie review 

“Shakuntalam” movie review 

REVIEW BY: SS

Cast: Samantha, Dev Mohan, Mohan Babu, Jisshu Sengupta, Gautami, Aditi Balan, Madhoo and Ananya Nagalla, and Allu Arha among others. 

Crew: Director: Gunasekhar 
Producer: Neelima Guna 
Music: Manisharma
Editor: Prawin Pudi Cinematography Shekar V Joseph Art: Ashok
Gunasekhar’s adoption of an epic tale christened ‘Shakuntalam’ hit the screens on April 14 worldwide. The film is an attempt to present the tale by Kalidasa to millennials. Let us see how this honest attempt by the cast and crew turned out to be.

Plot

The film is the recreation of the literary masterpiece Abhijnanasakuntalam, a love story of the elegantly beautiful Shakuntala (Samantha) and powerful king Dushyanta (Dev Mohan). For those who are not familiar with the epic saga, Shakuntala is abandoned by her parents and is confined to a hermitage in the forest. She gets married to Dushyanta when he happens to visit the hermitage and stumble upon her beauty. Before leaving for the capital, the king gives Shakuntala a ring which she has to give back to him upon their next meeting to claim the queen’s place. What happens to the ring, what hinders Shankuntala’s journey to King’s court and how she finally reunites with Dushyanta forms the rest of the story. 

Analysis

The story of Shakuntala is well known to many and people have seen it in various forms to date. Depiction of the same on such a huge scale on silver screen and that too in 3D format is something that is to be considered. 

Gunasekhar who is known for massive sets in his movies took Shankuntalam to another level with computer graphics and sets. 

Though the story is presented through the lens of the titular role Shankuntala, Gunasekhar ensured there are commercial elements such as war sequences to keep the viewers engaged. Unfortunately, the war sequences both in the first and second halves have been a disappointment. 

In the original story of Shakuntala and Dushyanta, the protagonist is Dushyanta but Shakuntalam is portrayed as a female-oriented movie hence a less-known face is cast as the lead role. This has been a drawback in the film. Things may have been better if the male lead is a popular face. 

Also, better chemistry between the lead pair would have made the story more interesting and engaging.

It appears the makers have focused much on the visuals leaving aside the core subjects of the story – love, drama and conflict. 

The music and background score by Mani Sharma are not up to the mark. The background score could have been much better to lift the mood of the film in some places. On the whole, Samantha’s stardom did no help to the movie. 

Performances

Samantha did well in most of the portions but her body language and body didn’t suit certain portions where she played the Srungara Shakuntala. 

Though it is a female-oriented film, Samantha is not seen in a sizeable number of scenes as the story demands. 

Dev Mohan did his best but his lack of nativity did not help his character connect to the Telugu audience. 

Allu Arjun’s daughter Allu Arha’s performance was impressive. She is confident and pretty while delivering dialogue. All this made her character stand out. 

Mohan Babu in the role of Durvasa Mahamuni did his part well. All other actors meet the expectations. 

What’s good

Production values Samantha King’s court scene

What’s bad
Lack of dramaThe chemistry between lead pair Background score Bottom line

Watch it if you are into mythical sagas

Sarkar rating: 2/5

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