Samantha as ethereal, demure ‘Shaakuntalam’ 

The first look poster of director Gunasekhar’s multilingual film showcases Samantha Ruth Prabhu as Shakuntala

Years after the historical drama Rudhramadevi (2015) starring Anushka Shetty, director Gunasekhar is helming Shaakuntalam, based on Kalidasa’s mythological drama Shakuntala. The first look poster of the film shows Samantha Ruth Prabhu in the title character. 

The actor took to social media to share her look, terming the character as “Nature’s beloved… ethereal and demure” Shakuntala. The poster shows her in a white ensemble and floral ornaments, in a forest setting. 

In the film expected to release in Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada and Hindi, actor Dev Mohan enacts the part of Dushyanta, the king of Puru dynasty. Shaakuntalam also stars Mohan Babu, Sachin Khedekar, Aditi Balan, Ananya Nagalla and Allu Arha, among several others. The film has dialogues by Sai Madhav Burra and music by Mani Sharma. 

Meanwhile, the makers of the Tamil-Telugu bilingual Yashoda that is headlined by Samantha, have shared glimpses of the lavish sets constructed for the film. Produced by Sivalenka Krishna Prasad of Sridevi Movies, the film is directed by the duo Hari - Harish and also has on board Varalaxmi Sarathkumar, Unni Mukundan, Rao Ramesh and Murali Sharma. 

According to the producer Sivalenka Krishnaprasad, the set was designed under the supervision of art director Ashok, at a cost of ₹ 3 crore: “Around 30% to 40% of the scenes of Y ashoda happen in a single place. We visited several star hotels but it would have been tough to film for 35 to 40 days. So we decided to construct the set on two floors at Ramanaidu Studios, Nanakramguda” 

The sets include seven dining halls, a living room, a conference hall and a library equipped with amenities like a luxury hotel. Ashok is known for his large scale sets such as the Charminar set in Okkadu. 

The Yashoda unit began filming on the sets from February 3, with Samantha, Varalaxmi Sarathkumar and Unni Mukundan. The unit will later head to Kodaikanal for a few more scenes and plan to wind up the shooting by April.