Shaakuntalam: Samantha is as radiant as ever in an empress avatar in the film’s new poster

Easily one of Samantha’s most ambitious films to date, Shaakuntalam is only a month away from its theatrical release across the globe in five languages (February 17). Written and directed by renowned filmmaker Gunasekhar, the film also stars Dev Mohan, Mohan Babu, Ananya Nagalla, Aditi Balan, Gauthami Tadimalla, late Krishnam Raju among many others in a star-studded lineup. After wooing audiences with an impressive theatrical trailer, a new poster of Samantha was launched commemorating Sankranthi.

Samantha looks like an epitome of visual poetry in her latest avatar as an empress, essaying the titular character in Shaakuntalam. The actress, over the years, has constantly cited that it was her dream to play a princess on-screen and filmmaker Gunasekhar has helped her fulfil that wish. As a history/mythology enthusiast, Gunasekhar has proved his worth in films like Rudramadevi, Ramayanam and it’s reasonable to say that Samantha is in safe hands.

It would also be ideal to say that very few from this generation of filmmakers have the versatility of a Gunashekar to tackle a drama-heavy epic like Shaakuntalam. In an industry where dialogues have become mere ego-boosting tools, the chaste Telugu in Shaakuntalam’s trailer did come as a relief to many. In his Sankranthi wish, Malayalam actor Dev Mohan expressed his happiness about growing closer to Telugu audiences with Shaakuntalam.

With art direction by Ashok, music by Mani Sharma and cinematography by Sekhar V Joseph, Shaakuntalam has an incredible technical team. Edited by Prawin Pudi and co-produced by Sri Venkateswara Creations, the epic drama also stars Jisshu Sengupta, Madhoo and marks the on-screen debut of Allu Arjun’s daughter Allu Arha.