Shaakuntalam

Shaakuntalam is a 2023 Indian Telugu-language mythological romantic drama film written and directed by Gunasekhar. It is produced by Neelima Guna under Gunaa Teamworks and distributed by Sri Venkateswara Creations. Based on a popular play Abhignyana Shakuntalam by Kalidasa, the film features Samantha in the title role of Shakuntala and Dev Mohan as Dushyanta, the king of Puru dynasty along with Mohan Babu, Jisshu Sengupta, Madhoo, Gautami, Aditi Balan and Ananya Nagalla in supporting roles. In the film, Shakuntala and King Dushyanta marry, but Dushyanta forgets all about Shakuntala due to a sage's curse.

The project was announced in October 2020 by Gunasekhar. The film's production began in February 2021 at Annapurna Studios in Hyderabad and ended in August 2021. The film was made on a budget of ₹65 crore. It is shot extensively around Hyderabad, including Ramoji Film City, Ananthagiri Hills, and Gandipet Lake.

Shaakuntalam was theatrically released on 14 April 2023 to negative reviews from critics and was a box office failure.

The movie starts as Menaka leaves the baby near Rishi Kanva's hermitage before returning to heaven. During the summer, King Dushyanta pursued an antelope in the forest, when he was confronted by an ascetic. The ascetic told him that the creature belonged to the ashrama of Kanva, and he was not to violate the sanctity of the land by slaying it. Dushyanta agreed to not kill the antelope, and was encouraged to visit the ashrama. He was told that he would be welcomed by Shakuntala, Kanva's adopted daughter, due to the sage's absence. Upon entering the ashrama, he came across three exquisite girls watering the plants, and became infatuated with Shakuntala, who was one among the trio. After a conversation with the bevy, he learnt that the true parents of Shakuntala were Vishvamitra and Menaka, which made Shakuntala a suitable bride for him due to her Kshatriya parentage. Dushyanta, however, chose not to reveal his identity. The company broke up due to hearing that an elephant was running amok, and Shakuntala grew enamoured of the visitor. The king directed his general to stop the chaos and instruct his men to stay away from the ashrama. He confessed his feelings to his companion and jester Vidushaka, urging him to think of a pretext to stay in the ashrama without arousing suspicion. Fortunately, a few ascetics approached him soon to request him to safeguard their yajna, which he readily accepted. He sent Vidushaka to his capital, and fearing that his friend would be a tattletale, he lied, stating that his feelings for Shakuntala were but a joke. For a time, he watched over the ascetics' yajna. Shankuntala soon confessed her feelings for Dushyanta, and the two were married according to gandharva rites. The king left for the capital, and promised his wife that he would send a suitable guard to escort her to his palace.

In her solitude, Shakuntala was absorbed in thoughts of her husband, due to which she failed to offer the appropriate hospitality to the short-tempered sage, Durvasa. Durvasa cursed her, stating that the man she was thinking of to such an extent that he had been neglected would never remember her. One of Shakuntala's friends, Anasuya, offered an explanation of her friend's absent-mindedness, and sought forgiveness from the sage. Duravasa agreed to offer a concession of the curse, stating that the man would remember her upon the presentation of a token of recognition. Shakuntala's companions did not reveal this curse to her, reasoning that it did not matter; Shakuntala did, after all, have such a token of recognition, so her husband would no doubt recall her. Kanva returned to his ashrama, and offered his consent for the marriage. The curse took effect, and Dushyanta lost all memory of Shakuntala. When Shakuntala started to show signs of pregnancy, Kanva decided to send her to her lawful husband, explaining to her the duties of a wife and a daughter-in-law.On the way, they had to cross a river by a canoe ferry and, seduced by the deep blue waters of the river, Shakuntala ran her fingers through the water. Her ring (Dushyanta's ring) slipped off her finger without her realizing it. Upon reaching the king's palace, Dushyanta failed to recognise Shakuntala, and merely expressed his incredulity when the accompanying sages urged him to accept her as his queen. Shakuntala searched for the ring that the king had presented her during their parting, but realised that it had been lost during the journey. While leaving the hall, the anguished Shakuntala is carried off by an apsara. After a while, the ring that Shakuntala had dropped in a pool of water was discovered by a fisherman inside a fish, which was produced before Dushyanta following accusations of theft. Durvasa's curse was broken upon the king seeing the ring, and his memory of his wife was restored. He immediately set out to find her and, arriving at her father's ashram, discovered that she was no longer there. He continued deeper into the forest to find his wife and came upon a surprising scene in the forest: a young boy had pried open the mouth of a lion and was busy counting its teeth. The king greeted the boy, amazed by his boldness and strength, and asked his name. He was surprised when the boy answered that he was Bharata, the son of King Dushyanta. The boy took him to Shakuntala, and thus the family was reunited.

In 2017, director Gunasekhar announced a magnum opus Hiranya Kashyapa with Rana Daggubati as the lead. The film was based on the famous mythological epic tale of the Asura, Hiranyakashipu. In October 2020, the director announced that the pre-production of Hiranya Kashyapa was completed during the COVID-19 pandemic, the shooting process of the film will not start in the near future. Later in November, Gunasekher announced the film based on Kalidasa's 4th century play Shakuntala which tells the story of the legendary princess Shakuntala and king Dushyanta.

Soon after the announcement, reports suggested that the makers have approached Anushka Shetty for the portrayal of Shakuntala, after her collaboration with Gunasekhar in the historical drama, Rudhramadevi (2015), which did not materialize.^{[citation needed]}

Later in the year, Malayalam film actor Dev Mohan and Telugu film actress Eesha Rebba were approached for the film, with Mohan reportedly playing Dushyanta and Eesha Rebba supposed character unknown. In March 2021, media mentioned that Rebba has walked out of the project due to several reason. In March 2021, Samantha has taken her social media to announce that Dev Mohan is officially a part of the project as Dushyant. Veteran actor Mohan Babu was also cast in the film. He was reportedly playing the hot-tempered Durvasa Maharishi and Aditi Balan was replacing Rebba in the film. It was reported that both Gautami and Prakash Raj was also featuring in Shaakuntalam.