Shaakuntalam: The Samantha starrer incurred a 20 crore loss; reveals producer

In a recent interview producer Dil Raju revealed that the Samantha starrer Shaakuntalam caused him a loss of 20 crores, making it one of the biggest flops in his 25-year career.

This comes as no surprise as the movie had failed to make a double-digit gross at the box office at the end of four days.

The movie was made on a budget of 65 crores and went on to gross an estimated 20 crores at the box office. The mostly negative reaction from critics and audiences was the early warning signs that the movie was heading for a terrible run at the box office.

The movie was initially supposed to hit theaters in November 2022 but was pushed back to February 2023 in order to release movie in 3D.

And later the release of the movie was pushed back to April 14, in order to improve the movie's visual effects which many considered lackluster after the release of the trailer.

The movie is based on the play by Kalidasa and has been told and retold multiple times, in the form of books, TV shows, and movies.

This latest adaptation by director Gunasekhar stars Samantha in the lead. The first trailer for the movie was launched a few months ago and received mixed responses from audiences.

Sekhar V. Joseph was in charge of the cinematography, editing was be handled by Prawin Pudi and the music was helmed by Mani Sharma.

The movie is produced by Neelima Guna under the banner of Gunaa Teamworks. The film was shot extensively around Hyderabad, including Ramoji Film City.

The supporting cast of the Shaakuntalam includes Dev Prabhu, Mohan Babu, Aditi Balan, Ananya Nagalla, Prakash Raj, Kabir Duhan Singh, and Madhoo.

Currently, Samantha is preparing for her role in the upcoming Hindi action series Citadel for Amazon Prime Video which is a spinoff series of the upcoming Amazon series of the same name, which stars Richard Madden and Priyanka Chopra in the lead.