It is already known that director Gunasekhar is adopting the epic Shaakuntalam into a film and that Samantha Akkineni will be seen playing Shakuntala in the film. Malayalam actor Dev Mohan will be seen playing king Dushyant in the film, and Allu Arjun’s daughter Allu Arha will be seen playing prince Bharata in the film.
The shooting of Shaakuntalam began several weeks ago and has now come to an end. Samantha has been very selective of her scripts in recent times, and has rejected several offers, but accepted Shaakuntalam, stating that the script of the film excited her very much. Upon wrapping, Samantha is said to have felt very emotional. Shaakuntalam has been shot in huge sets, in front of green screens, and is said to be very heavy on VFX.
On the other hand, this is Gunasekhar’s second attempt at periodic films, after Rudramadevi, which starred Anushka Shetty in the lead role. After this, Gunasekhar is planning Hiranyakashyapa with Rana Daggubati, where the actor will be seen playing the titular role. The pre-production of Shaakuntalam is yet to begin, and the film is expected to release next year.