SHIKHA DUGGAL
The art and production design in every Gunasekhar film is a whole mood in itself. A source exclusively told us, “We have heard the standards set by our forefathers. Let’s talk about the cinematic adaptation of Shaakuntalam! In 1940, a Tamil movie called Shakunthalai came out, which was directed by a Hollywood director. Subbalakshmi garu acted as Shakuntala in it. Kalidasa brilliantly wrote the story of Shakuntala Dusyanta in the Adiparvam of Mahabharata under the name Abhijnana Sakunthalam.
The stage adaptation was excellent. They set the trend. Then Rama Rao made a movie. Santaram did one too! Thereafter, no one has done it for 60-70 years. It is a timeless classic.”
So, whatever the setting or the story be, Tollywood fans come to expect that signature look of his. So many kilos of gold worn by the lead actors is the next talk of the town.
The source continued, “Samantha was so sporting. From the exteriors, she may look like a delicate woman but nonetheless she has a lot of stamina.
Nowadays, in films jewellery is also digitised but not following that path and instead taking the real inspiration from Rama Rao — the director didn’t want the trend of fake jewellery taking space on screen. Dil Raju, the producer, was ready to invest fourteen crores immediately but then Neelima Guna spoke to Vasundhara Jewellers. They are art lovers. They didn’t start counting commercially, their primary goal differed.”
What will happen to the jewelry once the movie is over? Well, the director has decided to continue to preserve it under the Shakuntalam collection. Well to know how the big banner approached Vasundhara group — we had the insights from the adversary’s end too.
The team responds, “Neelima Guna approached my (Vasundhara Jewellers owner) daughter in law, she had already seen the samples before. Probably, she remembered. She was impressed, it seems! Then she gave us the intricate details as to how she wants her lead actors to wear authentic jewellery. My sister got too involved and for the next six to eight months she was on the project! After the designs were made, minor changes were done here and there. Neeta Lulla was guiding us!”
