Shaakuntalam movie review: An epic love story led down by snail-paced screenplay & shoddy VFX
FirstpostCast: Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Dev Mohan, Allu Arha, Sachin Khedekar, Mohan Babu, Kabir Bedi, Kabir Duhan Singh, Jisshu Sengupta, Madhoo, Gautami, Aditi Balan, Kabir Duhan Singh, Ananya Nagalla Director: Gunasekhar Language: Telugu, dubbed in Hindi, Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam The eternal love story of Shakuntala and Dushyant is one of the most memorable tales from the Mahabharata era but unfortunately, very few people know about this and that’s why filmmaker Gunasekhar is retelling it with Shaakuntalam, which is based on Kalidasa’s Abhignyana Shakuntalam. After years King Dushyant of Puru dynasty accidentally into the premises of the ashram while chasing animals in the jungle, who are harming his kingdom’s people. During his short stay in the ashram, Dusnyant marries Shakuntala in the presence of animals and nature and while heading back to his kingdom he gives her his ring as the symbol of love and promises to come back soon and take her to his kingdom with all the rituals and traditions. While Gunasekhar’s noble efforts should be appreciated for retelling this epic love story but sadly, this magnum opus loses its grip due to a slow-paced screenplay and shoddy VFX.