''Sakuntalaṃ'' (

Sanskrit Language Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

: Śakuntalā) is a

Sanskrit language Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

historical film directed by

Dushyanth Sridhar Dushyanth Sridhar is a speaker, and delivers talks on Hindu spiritual topics, including the ''Ramayana'', ''Mahabharata'', ''Bhagavata Mahapurana'', ''Vishnu Purana'', ''Divya Prabandham'', and the lives and works of Hindu saints. He renders ...

, a renowned speaker, writer and researcher on Indian scriptures. It is an adaptation of

Kalidasa Kālidāsa (, "Servant of Kali"; 4th–5th century CE) was a Classical Sanskrit author who is often considered ancient India's greatest poet and playwright. His plays and poetry are primarily based on Hindu Puranas and philosophy. His surviv ...

's work Abhijnana Shakuntalam. The film is produced by

and Srinivas Kannaa under Desika Daya Productions. The movie stars debutants Shubham Sahrawat and Payal Shetty in the leading roles.

Cast and Crew

Apart from the Director and producer, there are some key people who are associated with this film project. Rajkumar Bharati, the great-grandson of

Subramania Bharathi Subramania Bharati (Born Chinnaswami Subramaniyan; 11 December 1882 – 11 September 1921) was an Indian writer, poet, journalist, teacher, Indian independence activist, social reformer and polyglot. He was bestowed the title ''Bharati'' for hi ...

, has composed the music while

Sai Shravanam Sai Shravanam is an Indian music producer, recording and scoring engineer. He is a self trained tabla player and one of the few classically trained sound engineers in the country. He is the owner and founder of Resound India in the city of C ...

, the sound recordist of the

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

-winning film

Life Of Pi ''Life of Pi'' is a Canadian philosophical novel by Yann Martel published in 2001. The protagonist is Piscine Molitor "Pi" Patel, an Indian boy from Pondicherry, who explores issues of spirituality and metaphysics from an early age. After a ...

, is the music producer for the film. Two-time

National Award The National Film Awards are awards for artistic and technical merit given for "Excellence within the Indian film industry". Established in 1954, it has been administered, along with the International Film Festival of India and the Indian P ...

-winner AS Lakshminarayan has done the audiography and the editing of the film is done by five-time

-winner B Lenin. National Award Winner

Pattanam Rasheed Pattanam Rasheed is an Indian make-up artist. He won the 55th National Film Award for Best Make-up Artist. Awards ;Kerala State Film Awards * 1992 Kerala State Film Award for Best Makeup Artist - '' Aadhaaram'' * 1997 Kerala State Film Award for ...

is the makeup artist in the film. The costume designer of the film is a Chennai-based textile designer Lakshmi Srinath. * Payal Vijay Shetty as Sakuntala * Shubham Jaibeer Sahrawat as Dushyanta * Siri Chandrasekhar as Anasuya * Subhaga Santhosh as Priyamvada * Pavithra Srinivasan as Gautami * Y Gee Mahendra as Kanva * T V Varadarajan as Vaikhanasa * Mohanram as Durvasa * Renjith-Vijna as Vishwamitra-Menaka * Sanjeev S as Sharngarava * R Lakshminarayanan as Shardvata * Raaghav Ranganathan as Madhavya * C Lakshmi Kumar as Bhadrasena * S M Sivakumar as Somarata * Ramya Ramnarayan as Rajamata * Maanas Chavali as Syala * Govindasamy as Purusha * K Balaji and K Bharathwaj as Tapasvi * Shambhavi Jagadish as Tapasvini * Dwarkesh Srivatsan as Raivataka * Master Vishnu Kaushik as Bharata(Sarvadamana) * C S Karthic Kumar as Suta * Harish as Matali

Critical Response and Accolades

At the Rajasthan International Film Festival held at

Jodhpur Jodhpur () is the second-largest city of the north-western Indian state of Rajasthan, after its capital Jaipur. As of 2023, the city has a population of 1.83 million. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Jodhpur district and ...

, the movie won the Special Viewers' choice award for Best Regional Feature Film. Tejas Punia in Bollywoodlocha awarded 4 stars for the movie while saying, "Sridhar has made his debut movie in a very beautiful manner, no matter how many times you have read this work, you will want to watch this movie".

References

External links

* {{Shakuntala Sanskrit-language films Indian biographical drama films Indian films based on plays 2022 drama films 2022 films