Samantha Ruth Prabhu’s pan-India mythological drama film Shaakuntalam failed to impress the audiences and critics alike. The film, which released theatrically on April 14, 2023, fared to perform well at the box office.
According to reports, Shaakuntalam failed to cross the Rs 10 crore mark at the Indian box-office. While the hopes were sky high from the Gunasekhar directorial, the film failed to create any magic.
If reports are to be believed, producer Dil Raju has incurred huge losses post the box office failure of Shaakutalam. A report in news outlet Great Andhra.com has revealed that the producer lost nearly Rs 22 crore after the debacle of the film.
Shaakuntalam was reportedly made on a budget of nearly Rs 65 crores. While the OTT rights of the film have been sold for a whopping sum of Rs 35 crore, the film has not been able to recover its budget.
Filmmaker Gunasekhar spoke about Samantha Ruth Prabhu being the first choice for the film. The director revealed that the actor was the only choice for the film. “Sam didn’t say no on my first narration but she asked for some time as she was unwell. I have shown some of the material how the film will look and she liked it.”
“I asked Samantha to rework her figure because her abs or biceps would be unsuitable for the soft and tender look of Shakuntala. So to work on her look, she asked for some time but not for its content. I had no plan B actress for Shaakuntalam, from day one it was always Samantha,” Gunasekhar revealed in his interview.
Talking about the film, Samantha Ruth Prabhu revealed that the film is an epic love story. “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 from one of our oldest classics. Apart from the story, the movie has high-level graphics and special effects,” Samantha told ANI.