Top producer Dil Raju backed Shaakuntalam that had Samantha in the lead role. Gunasekhar directed the film and it headed for a pan-Indian release yesterday. The footfalls for the film are quite poor. Dil Raju screened the film on Monday and the negative buzz started from the premiere show. The special screening had a huge impact on the openings of Shaakuntalam. Several posted negative reviews on social media.

Dil Raju’s strategy failed badly for Shaakuntalam. He also planned many more premieres but the plan was changed after the negative reviews started pouring in from the Monday premiere show. The film also opened on a poor note in all the released languages. Gunasekhar himself produced Shaakuntalam.