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Shaakuntalam movie review: Nothing works in this Samantha Ruth Prabhu epic, not even the visual effects

ByHaricharan Pudipeddi
Apr 14, 2023 04:29 PM IST

Shaakuntalam movie review: Samantha Ruth Prabhu's period drama fails to impress. The Gunasekhar directorial also features Dev Mohan, Gautami, Sachin Khedekar.

Shaakuntalam is one of those projects, which sound exciting as an idea and on paper, but turn out to be very unexciting, when made into a film. Filmmaker Gunasekhar, best known for directing Mahesh Babu’s Okkadu and Arjun, continues to bite more than he can chew and Shaakuntalam is the best example as his form continues to deteriorate with each outing. Eight years since the release of his last film Rudhramadevi, which was another historical action drama, Gunasekhar returns with Shaakuntalam, which is easily his weakest work in the last decade. Also read: First reactions for Samantha Ruth Prabhu's Shaakuntalam are in; actor gets 'standing ovation', cast called brilliant

Shaakuntalam movie review: Samantha Ruth Prabhu and Dev Mohan in a still from the period drama.
Shaakuntalam movie review: Samantha Ruth Prabhu and Dev Mohan in a still from the period drama.

Shaakuntalam is the story of Shakuntala (Samantha Ruth Prabhu), who has been deprived of love since birth. Born as the daughter of Menaka and Vishwamitra, she’s abandoned by her mother and left in the forest, where she is spotted and raised by Kanva Maharishi (Sachin Khedekar). Cut to many years later, king Dushyanta meets Shakuntala in the forest, and it’s love at first sight. Smitten by the valour and charisma of Dushyanta, Shakuntala, too, is deeply mesmerised by him and eventually falls in love with him.

However, she fears her curse of being deprived of love all her life would take away the life she dreams with Dushyanta. Contrary to her fears, Dushyanta secretly marries Shakuntala and promises to give her a royal welcome in his kingdom as soon as he's done with war duties. As Shakuntala waits for Dushyanta to return, months pass by and she becomes pregnant.

One day, lost in the thoughts of her husband, Shakuntala ignores the arrival of Durvasa Maharishi (Mohan Babu) to their ashram and she earns his wrath. He curses Dushyanta will be erased of all the memories of Shakuntala. How does Shakuntala prove that she’s Dushyanta’s wife and wins him over, again? This forms the crux of the story.

Right from the writing to the making and even the visual effects, there’s nothing impressive in Shaakuntalam. It mostly looks like a project that was haphazardly put together without much focus on creating a world that can draw audiences in and keep them hooked till the last frame. A large portion of the film relies on visual effects and the film is big time let down by the tacky output which is mostly amateurish. There’s not a single scene in a film of this scale that leaves you in awe, and that’s what makes Shaakuntalam a major misfire. If not for Samantha Ruth Prabhu, who does all the heavy lifting and tries her best to hold the film together, this would’ve been easily the biggest disappointments of the year.

Samantha is sincere and earnest as Shakuntala, who is strongly portrayed through a performance that’s one of the highlights of the film. In the second half, Samantha is brilliant in a scene which requires her to break down emotionally. She brings out both the helplessness and vulnerability of her character so effectively. Dev Mohan as Dushyanta also does a pretty neat job. Allu Arha, Allu Arjun’s daughter, makes a cute debut and it’s amazing how effortlessly she mouths her lines with confidence. The rest of the supporting cast has nothing much to contribute.

Two of the most crucial aspects of the film – war sequences and 3D – are laughable to say the least. War sequences feel so rushed as though they were shot in fast forward mode and come across as spoof on most occasions. The 3D, which was mostly dark, ruined the overall experience without a doubt.

Film: Shaakuntalam

Director: Gunasekhar

Cast: Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Dev Mohan, Gautami, Sachin Khedekar and Mohan Babu

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