Rating: 2/5
Banners: Gunaa Teamworks, Sri Venkateswara Creations
Cast: Samantha, Dev Mohan, Sachin Khedekar, Mohan Babu, Aditi Balan, Ananya Nagalla, Prakash Raj, Gautami, Madhoo, Kabir Bedi, Jisshu Sengupta, Kabir Duhan Singh and others
Music: Mani Sharma
Cinematographer: Sekhar V Joseph
Editor: Prawin Pudi
Director: Gunasekhar
Producer: Neelima Guna
Release date: 14th April 2023
It has been a while since the veteran filmmaker Gunasekhar did any movies and his last few works have conked at the box office. This time he chose a literature work by the great Kalidasa so let us see if this has helped him.
Story
Indra (Jisshu), the God of the Devas starts getting worried looking at the penance of Sage Viswamitra and he sends Menaka (Madhoo) to seduce him. This leads to the birth of a girl but Menaka abandons the girl as humans are not allowed in heaven. The girl is found by Kanva Maharshi (Sachin) near his hermitage and he names her Shakuntala (Samantha). Few years later, Shakuntala comes across the powerful king Dushyanta (Dev Mohan) in a forest and both fall in love. They also get married in the forest following the Gandharva tradition. Dushyanta promises Shakuntala he would take her back to the kingdom after sometime and leaves. However, he has the curse of Sage Durvasa (Mohan Babu) due to which he forgets Shakuntala after reaching his kingdom. Meanwhile, Shakuntala waits eternally for Dushyanta’s return and decides to win back her love by visiting him. What happens from there forms the rest.
Performances
Samantha put in a good effort to fit into the bill of Shakuntala but it must be said that her dubbing and her muscular physique made her look too strong than soft for the role. That elegance was missing. However, the effort needs appreciation. Dev Mohan has shown good potential and he did a decent job. Sachin Khedekar was neat. Mohan Babu was brief but good. Aditi, Ananya, Gautami, Madhoo were brief. Prakash Raj was perfect. The one to watch out for is Allu Arha, she was captivating. Harish was okay. The others like Subbaraju, Jisshu, Varshini were not used to their fullest.
Crew
The director came up with a story which runs on a thin line and though it has great potential to become a touching love story he could not package it right. The script was quite weak with flaws while the screenplay was loose. The dialogues were good at few places but didn’t carry the authenticity of a period era. The background score was okay and songs couldn’t do much as their placement was not right. Cinematography was okay. Editing was poor. Costumes and art department scored few marks. Action sequences were horrible. VFX was a disaster. The others did their bit as required.
Hits
The attempt of this genre
Arha’s performance
The Court scene
Misses
Second half
VFX
Editing
Narrative
Run time
Lack of emotional quotient
Deeper Look
While attempting a love story and that too on a period backdrop, two things are very important - The chemistry between the lead pair, the technical and visual standards. When these two fail to work, the whole project collapses. It appears that the same has happened here. The idea of adapting the great play of Kalidasa is admirable but it takes a lot of expertise and skill to execute it in a way that appeals to the audience on the silver screen. Gunasekhar did try to give a honest shot but it was clear that he lacked the vision and the ability to narrate it in the right way. The very thought of having Dev Mohan with Sam was a goof up as the saleable chemistry went haywire. Similarly, he had to ensure that the graphics and visuals were convincing enough to convey a grandeur and ambience but that was completely amateurish. The film takes off on a decent note and it proceeds with the required scenes but there was nothing really wow. The interval bang was expected and the second half brings down the whole graph. The length was unnecessary and the visuals were clumsy. Battle sequences were a sore to the eyes. Overall, while one can really relate to the thought of Gunasekhar to adapt a masterpiece, it appears he was too ambitious to do something which was way beyond his reach. At the box office, the film might have some openings but how far it will really sustain is a big question.
Vox Verdict
A Failed Epic..
