Director Gunasekhar: Samantha had the enthusiasm of a newcomer for Shaakuntalam

Director Gunasekhar, who last worked on the historical Rudhramadevi, is returning with another epic drama Shaakuntalam, starring Samantha, Dev Mohan, that releases across five languages on April 14. At a press meet in Kochi today, the filmmaker discussed what gave him the conviction to make a mythological drama on a huge scale.

Also read: Shaakuntalam actress Samantha: Whenever I feel my acting is getting repetitive, I seek inspiration from Malayalam cinema 

“In Malayalam, all films are driven by strong content. I’ve grown up watching Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam films and since my days as an assistant director, I’ve always believed content is king. The great Kalidasa wrote Abhijnanashakuntalam based on a brief episode in the Adi Parva of the epic Mahabharatha. When I read it, I found it very inspiring,” Gunasekhar said.

“When I began researching about Shakuntala’s story, I was very inspired by legendary MS Subbulaxmi’s film Sakunthalai, helmed by a Hollywood director. It’s a timeless classic and the fact that we’re discussing it eight decades later is proof of it. This is our story, our roots and mythology. There’s always demand for such content across industries and it convinced me to go ahead,” he added.

“I discussed this with my daughter (Neelima Guna), who studied arts and visual culture and she really liked it and said it was better than Romeo Juliet. She felt this generation would appreciate it too and called this ‘mythology for millennials’. I was pleasantly surprised to hear that. When we were looking for a face to reach out to millennial generation, Samantha was on our mind,” the Okkadu director stated.

“Ever since the project took off, Samantha worked with the enthusiasm of a newcomer. From body language to diction, she was on top of her game. The other big name associated with it, Dil Raju, is a commercial producer (who delivered a hit Varisu recently). He liked it and asked me not to compromise on my vision; sky was the limit. MT Vasudevan Nair made Vaisali at a huge budget and audiences in the country watched it. Baahubali is another example,” he stated.

Also read: Shaakuntalam: Gunasekhar reveals the person who suggested Samantha's name to play the lead