Shaakunthalam – Review

Sage Vishwamitra starts his penance to become more and more powerful. Indra gets tensed about losing his throne and sends Menaka to seduce Vishwamitra.

Vishwamitra and Menaka then give birth to a baby girl, but Menaka abandons the child as a living human being is not allowed in heaven.

Sage Kanva, who notices the baby near his hermitage, names her Shakuntala and raises her as his daughter.

After several years, Shakuntala comes across King Dushyantha in the forest, and within no time, they both fall for each other.

They marry as per the Gandharva tradition, and later Shakuntala becomes pregnant. Dushyantha promises to take Shakuntala to his kingdom after a while.

After Dushyantha reaches his kingdom, he forgets about Shakuntala due to the curse of sage Durvasa. The rest of the film showcases the hardships faced by Shakuntala to prove her relationship with Dushyantha.

Director Gunasekhar’s intention of telling a mythological story to the current audience is good. However, the execution could have been better.

The narration is not upto the mark and characters are not portrayed in an effective manner. As far as performances are concerned Samantha has given it all for her role in the movie.

She leaves a mark in the emotional sequences. Dev Mohan looks charming as Dushyantha and suits well for the role of a king.

Mohan Babu is superb as Sage Durvasa, and the interval sequence works well with the veteran’s powerful cameo.

Allu Arha is one of the biggest strengths of the movie and makes her presence felt.

Mani Sharma has delivered his best as far as the music department is concerned.

Cinematography by Shekhar V Joseph is impressive. The VFX has evoked mixed response from the audience.