Samantha Ruth Prabhu's recently released film Shaakuntalam did not perform well at the box office. A 2023 Telugu language mythological drama film written and directed by Gunasekhar, is a collaboration between Neelia Guna of Gunaa Teamworks and Sri Venkateshwara Creations, with a budget of Rs 60+ crores. The spectacular visuals of the film and Samantha's Shakuntalam look were praised by everyone. However, the film opened to a disappointing response and ended up becoming a failure.
Released on April 14, the film reportedly did a lifetime business of only Rs 7 crores at the BO. Following which, it was reported that the makers will have to incur huge losses. According to a report in Great Andhra.com, Shaakuntalam producer Dil Raju is said to have lost Rs 22 crores due to film’s failure at the box office. The report claims that this loss was actually his part of the venture. The big-budgeted film was reportedly sold to a streaming giant for Rs 35 crore, according to media reports.
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About Shaakuntalam
Based on Kalidasa's acclaimed Sanskrit play Abhijnana Shakuntalam, Samantha's film evolves around the epic love story of Shakuntala, daughter of sage Vishwamitra and Apsara Menaka, who was in love with King Dushyant, portrayed by Dev Mohan.
Shakuntala was abandoned by her parents in her childhood due to some reason and she grew up in sage Kanva's hermitage. When Shakuntala met King Dushyant, the duo fell in love and married Gandharva. King Dushyant leaves Shakuntala in the ashram and returns to his kingdom, promising to take her back after doing the necessary work. But Dushyant forgets about Shakuntala due to Durvasa Muni's curse, then Shakuntalam tells the story of Shakuntala's sacrifice and struggle.
The other important actors include Mohan Babu, Jisshu Sengupta, Madhoo, Gautami, Aditi Balan. Talking about the film, Samantha had said, "It's a love story. And love is like a universe in itself. Our cultural heritage is rich. And the story of this film is inspired by one of our oldest classics. Apart from the story, the movie has high-level graphics and special effects."
The film is released in Telugu states 2D and 3D formats besides in its dubbed versions in Tamil, Kannada, Hindi and Malayalam languages.
