Telugu cinema is currently generating the most financial success in Indian cinema. Telugu cinema's pan-Indian foray that started with Baahubali has reached Pushpa and RRR. As the market has grown, Telugu superstar projects are all getting big budgets these days. But a recent Telugu film is a disappointment for its makers.
Gunasekhar's mythological drama film Sakunthalam, starring Samantha Ruth Prabhu in the lead role, is a huge failure at the box office. The film is produced by Neelima Guna under the banner of Guna Team Works in association with Sri Venkateswara Creations. With an estimated budget of 50–60 crores, the film received bad word-of-mouth publicity from day one. With the collection reflected, the film is headed for the biggest failure in recent Telugu cinema, according to reports.
The film, which hit theatres on April 14, collected just Rs 50 lakh on its fifth day, reports The Times of India, quoting trade analysts. In addition to Telugu, the film hit theatres in Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam, and Kannada. The net collection in India was only 6.85 crores in the first five days, according to the Times report.
Gunasekhar has written the screenplay for the film based on the famous drama Abhijnana Sakunthalam by Kalidasan, based on an epic story from the Mahabharata. When Samantha becomes Shakunthala, Malayalee actor Dev Mohan comes as Dushyantha. This was a much-awaited project for the makers. However, makers are in the hope that the film will get a good collection in the coming weeks.
