‘Shaakuntalam’ Telugu movie review: Samantha gets her moments but this mythological romance is a misfire with subpar writing and visual effects

Director Gunasekhar’s ‘Shaakuntalam’ stars Samantha Ruth Prabhu and Dev Mohan in the lead
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Director Gunasekhar’s Telugu film Shaakuntalam, a retelling of Shakuntala’s story from Mahabharata, is an ambitious experiment. The makers hope that the audience will be awed by the romance between Shakuntala and Dushyant and the origin story of king Bharath in 3D. If the contemporary audience can watch international superhero and fantasy stories, why not a tale from our epics? The intent is appreciable and the director gets Samantha Ruth Prabhu to portray Shakuntala’s resilience and the actor is convincing. But the film falls woefully short in its technical finesse and the screenplay, too, is choppy. 

One of the better segments of Shaakuntalam, though melodramatic, unfolds in the court of Dushyant (Dev Mohan), the king of the Puru dynasty. Shakuntala’s adopted mother (Gauthami) and friends (Adarsh Balakrishna and Yash Puri) from Kanva maharshi’s ashram are at a loss to help Shakuntala after Dushyant declares that he has never seen her so that he may accept her as his wife or her unborn child as his own. Shakuntala, who until then silently takes in the heartbreak and disappointment, speaks up and confronts the king, only to be humiliated. Samantha and Dev Mohan make the scene stand out. 

Shaakuntalam

Cast: Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Dev Mohan

Direction: Gunasekhar

Music: Mani Sharma

The first hour passes in the forests, presented in a Disney-like manner, narrating how Shakuntala and her friends Anasuya and Priyamvada (Ananya Nagalla and Aditi Balan) live in tune with Nature with animals and birds responding to their conversations. These portions could have been magical; perhaps it is the visual effects or the conversion into 3D that make these forest sequences appear, to put it bluntly, superfluous. 

The depiction of the romance between Dushyant and Shakuntala also does not have the required depth or emotional heft to connect with the journeys of their characters. The forest portions also include a clash between the Kalanemi demons and Dushyant in the vicinity of the ashram, which could have benefited from better action choreography and visual effects. The disconnect with Shaakuntalam is prominent during the initial portions. 

The film begins to come into its own in the emotional scenes, beginning with Shakuntala bidding a tearful adieu to her adopted father Kanva maharshi, the deer and other animals, to take the long boat journey to the kingdom. Mani Sharma’s composition of ‘Mallika Mallika’ to show Shakuntala waiting for Dushyant through different seasons and ‘Yelelo yelelo’ with Prakash Raj as the boatman complement the mood of the narrative.

The court scene raises hopes that the film may have finally found its groove. Alas! Barring an occasional scene such as Menaka (Madhoo) lamenting over Shakuntala’s plight or the conversation between young Bharat (Allu Arha) and Dushyant, nothing really merits attention. The war between Indra Deva (Jisshu Sengupta) and the asura king (Kabir Duhan Singh) suffers from shoddy visual effects. The bar for visual effects in Indian cinema has been raised by Baahubali and RRR and it is imperative to meet that standard, if not aim higher. Shaakuntalam pales in this and the 3D experience makes it worse.

The writing is also choppy. We never truly understand the personality of Shakuntala or the bond she shares with others in the ashram or with Dushyant. Most supporting characters remain one note, as though they can be dispensed with. The Durvasa maharshi episode is effective; Mohan Babu looks the part and shows that the short-tempered rishi cannot be taken lightly. The conversation between Bharat and Dushyant begins with wit and charm only to go overboard with too many one-liners. 

The one who stands tall through the emotional segments is Samantha. After the high-on-action performances in The Family Man 2 and Yashoda, the actor takes it upon herself to show that she can showcase the vulnerability and strength of Shakuntala even in scenes that require her to barely speak a line or two. Dev Mohan as Dushyant befits the regal portrayal and Allu Arha makes an endearing debut.

Barring occasional moments, Shaakuntalam is boring and a missed opportunity. It neither comes across as a Disney-like film nor does it have the gravitas to whet the appetite for mythology among contemporary viewers.