Shakuntalam: Samantha Ruth Prabhu is ethereal as the divine beauty in first look poster

Samantha Ruth Prabhu has shared the film look poster for her upcoming film, Shakuntalam. She captioned her post, “Presenting…Nature’s beloved.. the Ethereal and Demure.. Shakuntala from #Shaakuntalam.”

In the poster, Samantha is seen in a forest, surrounded by animals and birds. She is sitting on a rock with a pitcher next to her. She is dressed in a white blouse and white saree, wearing ornaments made of flowers.

As her Hindu mythology, Shakuntala was the daughter of Meneka and Rishi Vishwamitra. She lived in a forest with her teacher, Rishi Kanva. In the forest she meets King Dushyant, falls in love with him and the two get married. After she has their baby (who later become King Bharat), Dushyant leaves her in the forest with a promise to come back for her soon. However, due to a sage's curse, Dushyant forgets all about Shakuntala, until destiny brings them together again.

Talking about the film, Samantha told Filmfare last year, “I have always liked choosing films that are completely different from my previous work. Shakuntalam is the extreme opposite, the other side of the spectrum from Raji. Every shot is perfect, every frame is a painting. I had to look the most beautiful that I’ve ever looked! So that pressure was there. It was fascinating. I’ve always been obsessed with mythology, period dramas, and this princess world. I really loved my dream role with Shaakuntalam. I’ve been a Disney fan all my life and Shaakuntalam is everything I could have wished for. In some shots, I can’t believe that’s me... actually, in a lot of shots I can’t believe it’s me! The team has done such a fantastic job from production design, costumes, lighting, and makeup. I just had to show up.”

Shakuntalam is directed by Gunasekhar and produced by Neelima Guna. Gunasekhar is best known for his epic period drama Rudhramadevi with Anushka Shetty. Shakuntalam will be released in Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam and Kannada.

Samantha was recently seen in Telugu film Pushpa, in which she danced to the widely popular song, Oa Antava. Last year, Samantha was seen playing a Sri Lankan Tamil rebel in the hit web series, Family Man season 2. She played a character called Raji, and her performance was well received.

She also awaits the release of Tamil romantic comedy, Kaathu Vaakula Rendu Kaadhal. The film, which has been directed by Vignesh Shivn, also stars Vijay Sethupathi and Nayanthara. 

Also read: Kaathu Vaakula Rendu Kadhal teaser: Samantha’s film is a crazy love story

It was revealed recently that Samantha will make her international film debut with Arrangements of Love, which will be directed by Downton Abbey director Philip John.

As per Variety, the project will be produced by Sunita Tati, who had previously worked with Samantha on Oh! Baby, the Telugu adaptation of Korean comedy, Miss Granny.