Critic's Rating: 3/5
Synopsis: Based on Kalidasa's most celebrated poem Abijnana Shaakuntalam, the film retells the epical love story of Shakuntala (who is the daughter of sage Vishwamitra and divine being Menaka) and King Dushyanta, who marries her according to Gaandharva vidhi. Things turn upside down when the curse of sage Durvasa makes Dushyanta forget Shakuntala. The hardships faced by Shakuntala and how she and her son reunites with Dushyanta form the crux of the story.
Review
Performances
Samantha did her job pretty well as Shakuntala. She perfectly handled the highly emotional scenes and was successful to get deep into the character to pour her heart out to make the audience feel the character. Her divine looks as an innocent girl, combined with royalty as the queen helped her nail the character with such an ease. Her voice modulation could have been better and the dubbing doesn't seem to align with the intensity of her performance. But in total, Samantha deserves to be highly appreciated for her part.
Dev Mohan was majestic as King Dushyanta. His charm and royal look fit perfectly for the character and he deserved more screen time. The chemistry between Dev and Samantha was not that great and the romantic scenes lacked naturality.
The main highlight of the movie that steals the attention of the audience would be undoubtedly of that the cameo by Allu Arha. Arha stole the entire climax portion with her charm and enthralling screen presence and becomes the most lovely character in the entire movie. Her dialogue delivery and attitude during confrontation scenes were exhilarating.
Story And Screenplay
Gunasekhar should be highly appreciated for his attempt to take up a story from the epic and bring back the glory of our culture, epic, and tradition. His attempt to bring commercial value was good in the action sequences of the first half but a bit disappointing in the second half. Gunasekhar seems to be confused about whether to project Shakuntala as a strong female protagonist who stands up against all odds to sustain her dignity or as an innocent woman who deserves sympathy and the director juggles both aspects with difficulty.
The storyline as such is simple and hinders the actors to perform to their full potential and Gunasekhar does not take his freedom as a filmmaker to widen the scope of the story and instead adheres to the epic as written which offers a lot of limitations. Samantha should have been given much more screen time in the second half after the court scene. The screenplay could have been better as the movie dragged out a lot of portions which might be a bit uncomfortable for the impatient millennials. The positive aspect is that Gunasekhar has reduced much of the melodrama, especially at the climax, which succeeded in giving a feel-good ending. But the limited scope of the storyline and underwhelming screenplay fails to deliver the soul of the story as given by Kalidasa in Abijnana Shaakuntalam.
Visuals And Cinematography
The VFX was neat a clean in most parts but sloppy in certain scenes as the CGI animals looked artificial. The art direction by Ashok Kumar was extremely appreciable. The grand sets and visuals are immensely appealing but one can easily distinguish the set from a natural forest location. But, overall, the film is a visual extravaganza on the big screen. The cinematography by Joseph V Sekhar was satisfying as the film offers some extremely beautiful shots which could be gazed at for hours.
Music Department
Mani Sharma's music was one of the main positives of the movie. The melodious 'Mallika Mallika' has a soothing effect which adds to the feel-good aspect of the movie. The BGMs were a bit too dramatic in certain scenes which seemed irrelevant. But in total music was well composed and soul-melting.
In A Nutshell
Positives:
1. Samantha's portrayal of Shakuntala
2. Dev Mohan's powerful performance
3. Grand and pleasing visuals
4. Allu Arha's screen presence and attitude in the climax
Negatives:
1. Underwhelming screenplay
2. Sloppy VFX in certain scenes
3. Poor chemistry between the lead pair
Verdict
Shaakuntalam is a visual treat that deserved better storytelling.
Cinemapedia Rating: 3/5
Shaakuntalam, directed by Gunasekhar, starring Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Dev Mohan, Allu Arha, Aditi Balan, Ananya Nagalla, Madhoo, and Prakash Raj, is now running in theatres.
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