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Shaakuntalam: FIVE Reasons Why Samantha Ruth Prabhu's Epic Fantasy Love Saga Couldn't Impress As Anticipated
Samantha Ruth Prabhu-starrer Shaakuntalam, directed by Gunasekhar hit the screens all over the world on April 14. The movie is a pan-India venture produced in five languages. Shaakuntalam was released to a lukewarm response at the box office.
The movie was made on a heavy budget. Samantha single-handedly is bearing the weight of the movie, and she has fallen sick just for this reason- vigorous promotions. Here we are trying to figure out why and what aspects of Shaakuntalam didn't work in the film's favour. Take a look.
Story
The story itself is a love story written by Kalidasa, from the mythological literature of Mahabharatha. Although Shakuntala and Dushyanta's love story is hailed as one of the most popular love stories from the Ithihasa, there is no freshness in it to play it out differently on the big screen.
The story has no fights, no conflicts, no elevations, and no intriguing elements to pique viewers' curiosity. In addition, the story is already known and understood. The trailers and promotional material couldn't help in bringing viewers to the theatres. Films with a fresh concept, heroic elevations, and thrillers are working big time with the movie-lovers, and a bland story and narration like this, depicted using a whopping price is nothing they would look forward to.
Dev Mohan As Dushyanta
Malayalam actor Dev Mohan, who had done three films old and is a newbie. Samantha is the face of this female-centric film, which was made on a heavy budget. The budget was equal and more than any tier 1 hero's film. While Samantha has a huge following and is a definite crowd-puller. However, investing so much in Samantha with a risky film like Shaakuntalam is quite a challenge, and the worst came true.
Gunasekhar was asked why he didn't cast any Telugu actor for the role of Dushyanta. He said, " Telugu actors and heroes might not come forward for the role due to the negative shade and variations it carries. Nobody wants to risk their image."
Had it been any other actor who is a known face to the viewers, especially in Telugu-speaking states, the movie's scale and market would have been different. There is no doubt about it.
Preview Shows
The filmmakers in Tollywood are believing in the concept of a preview show for a select audience before the release, as a good tactic to engage the viewers. Films like Major and Balagam were successful in utilizing this strategy but again, for Rangamaarthanda, the preview show's massive and overwhelmingly positive reviews didn't help the film at the box office. Four days before the theatrical release of Shaakuntalam, the makers exhibited the film, one of the bad steps that they have taken.
Immediately after the preview, negative reviews started pouring in for Shaakuntalam. The social media platforms started carrying these mixed reviews that had a severe impact on the opening-day collections.
Samantha's Promotions
Samantha, who opened up about her fight with 'Myositis' has stayed home while her last film Yashoda was released. She couldn't come out to promote the film because of her condition and treatment. But for Shaakuntalam, Samantha has done numerous interviews in Telugu and for Hindi viewers as well. The producers have spent a notable amount of creating a set for Shaakuntalam interviews, to sink with the film's theme.
However, more than the film's aspects, Samantha was seen talking about her personal life, her divorce from Naga Chaitanya, her struggles as a south-Indian actor in Bollywood, her treatment, etc. The purpose of interviews for Shaakuntal didn't serve. The makers have released a bunch of images, poster designs, two trailers, and a release trailer, etc but none of them could garner adequate buzz for Shaakuntalam.
Unimpressive Visual Effects
Director Gunasekhar is known for making films with elaborate sets, historic backdrops, and embellished attires- all of these tied together with the help of heavy visual effects, to convey the story. He only made high-budget films and most of them are on grand history. Often, Gunasekhar relies on heavy-duty CG to bring life to the story more than focusing on narration.
According to a Twitter user by the name Venky Reviews, "Shaakuntalam has a bad 1st half. Low-grade VFX makes us feel like we are watching a cartoon mixed with reality. War scenes feel like a spoof and the drama is also mostly flat. The music is decent. Need a very big 2nd half." (sic)
