Samantha Akkineni To Headline Director Gunasekhar's Upcoming Mythological Drama, Shaakuntalam

Actress Samantha Akkineni has been roped in to play the titular role in director Gunasekhar's upcoming mythological drama, Shaakuntalam. Set in the Himalayas, Shaakuntalam is based on Kalidasa's epic Sanskrit play Abhijnana Shakuntalam. The Pan India movie will be produced by Neelima Guna of Gunaa Teamworks.

Welcoming Samantha on board, the production house of the film, released a motion poster on the official Twitter handle on the 1st of 2021.

Welcome onboard @Samanthaprabhu2 as our Shakuntala 🤍https://t.co/RxNXsyqFx1#Shaakuntalam #EpicLoveStory #MythologyForMillennials@Gunasekhar1 @neelima_guna #ManiSharma @GunaaTeamworks pic.twitter.com/9YMPZun2If

— Gunaa Teamworks (@GunaaTeamworks) January 2, 2021

The film tells the love story of king Dushyantha and Shakuntala, daughter of sage Vishwamitra and apsara Menaka. The plot is reportedly based upon a love affair, a secret marriage, separation of imprecation, and the reunion of the immortal love of Dushyanta and Shakuntala.

According to Cinema Express, Gunasekhar had initially approached Pooja Hegde for the part, but things didn't work out as the Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo fame refused to play a mother on screen at this point of her career. Eventually, the Rudhramadevi director initiated a dialogue with Samantha and signed the deal.

A Mani Sharma musical, Shaakuntalam is expected to go on floors later this year.

Stay tuned...