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Abhinjana Sagunthalam is a romantic drama written by Kalidasa. This work, which contains great poems, has a prominent place in the world of literature.
There is love in Abhinjana Sagunthalam, there is Vraja. It is in the scriptures. There is the longing of a mother longing for her child. Women’s empowerment and self-respect are also present in this epic.
Gunasekar, who directed Telugu hits like Okkudu and Rudramadevi, is now trying to make this epic into a movie.
Samantha playing the role of Sagunthala, the presence of top technical artists, etc., made the film highly anticipated.
Has director Gunasekar’s effort succeeded? Has Kalidasa’s epic been transformed into a film without any harm?
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Best love story
Many of us are familiar with Saguntala, be it through association with literature or not. Hence, there is no need to repeat the story of Kalidasa’s creation.
However, let’s recall the story a bit. Sakundala (Samantha) is the child born to Monaka by Vishwamitra Muniyar. Helpless at birth, Shakuntala was raised by Kanva Maharishi as his own daughter.
Sakuntala grows up and grows up. Then one day, the king of Hastinapuram Dushyanthan (Dev Mohan) comes to Kanva Maharishi’s ashram. He falls in love with Sakuntala as soon as he sees her. Shakuntala also falls in love with Dushyanthu.
Both marry as gandhars. They become physically intimate. The next day, Dushyantha returns to Hastina. He promises to return soon and take Shakuntala to the palace. Meanwhile, Sakuntala becomes pregnant.
Shakuntala goes to Hastina in search of Dushyantana. But, due to the curse of Durvasa Maharishi, Dushyanthan forgets Shakuntala. In the hall where everyone is gathered, he insults Shakuntala by saying “I don’t know who you are”.
Shakuntala leaves with shame. What happened after that? Does Dushyantan have his past come back to haunt him? How much and how did he meet Shakuntala again? Kalidasa’s Abhinja Sakundalam contains the answers to such questions.
Abhinana Sagunthalam is a great love story. But there is not only love in this story, but also the self-esteem of a woman named Sakuntala. When Dushyantha says to the whole assembly, “I don’t know who you are,” Shakuntala doesn’t flinch and overcomes it with the hope that one day her mind will know the truth anyway.
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Better viewing experience
Gunasekaran sees the epic not only as a romantic epic, but he firmly believes that it can be presented in a unique way.
In the beginning of the film, the director of the film has tried to give the best visual experience to the audience with Dushyanthan hunting the tiger, the elephant scene and the battle scene.
Take, for example, the introductory scene of Sakuntala, in Abhinjana Sakuntala, referring to Sakuntala’s glory, Kalidasa mentions that the fireflies mistake her for a flower and gravitate towards her.
Gunasekar has displayed it as it is without any reduction in this imagination. Deer playing, rabbits running, peacocks fluttering their wings, snow-capped mountains, all the scenes stick to the mind like the colors of the rainbow.
He has created every scene in an eye-catching manner. . Gunasekar’s imagination and creativity in bringing Hastinapura fort to mind is amazing.
These scenes are even better when viewed with the help of 3D technology. Even though the scenes are shot on green mat, the way they are created is excellent.
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Whose story is this?
Visual experience aside, he seems to have a problem with scripting. This is the story of Shakuntala. But the film starts from the villain’s point of view.
The director starts the story without fully telling the audience about the character of Shakuntala, her characteristics. Thus, fans get the impression that this is a villain’s story.
However, this is the story of Sagaunthalai. If the story starts from her point of view, you can feel the love and compassion for the character. It is for this reason that when Shakundala is humiliated in the all-gathered assembly of the palace, it has no effect on the fans. Even when the people stoned him and chased him out of the kingdom, he was not shown much mercy. This is because the audience is not fully introduced to the character of Shakuntala.
The scene when Shakuntala and Dushyanda get married and physically join should also have been strongly written. But there is not much romance between these two characters. This is a big drawback. He must have written the powerful lines when Dushyanda comes in search of Sakuntala at the end of the film.
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Does Samantha fit the role?
This is a very challenging role for Samantha. He has acted well. Her make-up and acting are excellent.
But Sakundala means lightning. She is a romantic heroine. That amount of beauty is not available from the character of the film.
In the early scenes, Samantha has very few lines. After getting pregnant, Sakunthalai goes to Hastinapuram and gets an opportunity to speak powerful verses in the congregation. Samantha has made the most of those opportunities. Dev Mohan has done a good job as the villain.
Mohan Babu fits the role of Durvasa Maharishi perfectly. Gautami comes and goes in a minor role. Everyone else comes and goes and nobody sticks to their minds.
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Allu Arha (Allu Arjun’s daughter) playing the role of Bharatu in the film is impressing everyone. It even gives the impression that his character’s time may have been increased.
The film was shot in 2D and later converted to 3D. Perhaps this film would have been more attractive if it had been shot using 3D technology. In that respect the 3D visuals are not as expected. Mani Sharma’s music and background music are not very impressive. It seems that the computer graphics have worked hard in the film.
Due to lack of budget, time etc. they did not have much impact.
No matter how good a film is visually, it has to make an impression on the audience. This is not the case in this film.
Similarly, since the story of Shakuntala has been told from the villain’s side, the fans have not got the chance to see the story from Sakuntala’s point of view. This is a huge drawback. In that way, Shakuntala did not reach the desired goal.
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