Hyderabad: Samantha Ruth Prabhu's look in the mytho-fantasy drama Shaakuntalam piqued fans' interest, but it did not translate into box office numbers. After a slow start, the film only earned Rs 1.5 crore on day two, bringing the two-day total to Rs 5 crore. On Saturday, Shaakuntalam had an overall Telugu occupancy of 20.59% and a Hindi occupancy of 8.35%.
Because most states celebrated New Year's Day on Saturday, the figures could have been skewed. The real test for the film will be whether or not audiences show up to see a female-led film on Sunday. The Samantha starrer is helmed by Gunasekhar, which has an ensemble cast comprising Jayadev Mohan, Mohan Babu, Prakash Raj, Sachin Khedekar, Aditi Balan, Jisshu Sengupta, Madhoo, and Allu Arha.
Samantha has been cast opposite Dev Mohan. Shaakuntalam is based on Kalidasa's popular Indian classic play Abhigyan Shakuntalam. Shakuntala was King Dushyant's wife and Emperor Bharata's mother. It tells the heartwarming love story of King Dhusyantha and Shakuntala, who face adversity as a result of Dhurvasa Muni's curse.
The film's music was composed by Mani Sharma, and it was produced by Gunaa Teamworks and Sri Venkateswara Creations. While there were some complaints from viewers about the movie, many praised Samantha for her performance and said it was her career-best performance. Some critics have tweeted that the special effects fell short of what the trailer promised, despite some people saying the VFX and CGI are well-done.
Samantha recently starred in the sci-fi thriller movie Yashoda, which was well-received by the audience. She will next be seen with Vijay Deverakonda in the upcoming romantic drama Khusi, and with Varun Dhawan in the action-thriller web series Citadel.
