Gunasekhar’s ‘Shaakuntalam’ is a movie based on the myth of Shakuntala. In the story, Dushyanta forgets his wife because of a curse and leaves her to fend for herself. The movie does not offer anything new in terms of interpretation or presentation, and is content to stretch a simplistic version of the myth to the length of a feature film.
The film might be in 3D, but the characters are disappointingly unidimensional. Samantha plays Shakuntala with a quivering vulnerability and looks luminescent on screen, but the writing does not offer any insight, making it difficult to become involved with the all-too-familiar story. Dev Mohan as Dushyanta gets even less to work with.
The world-building in the film is dull and lifeless, hurting the spectacle. There is a lot of talent in the cast, but they all look like they just walked out of a school stage play. The dialogues are reminiscent of the mythological dramas we watched on Doordarshan. The background score is melodramatic and old-fashioned.
The movie was marketed as a ‘Disneyfied’ version of the myth, but it fails to excite on screen. The screenplay has no highs or lows and is at a consistent flat line. Samantha tries her best to move the audience, but there’s only so much an actor can do when attempting to stay afloat in a tsunami of bad writing. Shaakuntalam is forgettable.
