Dev Mohan was not the first choice of Samantha's Shakuntalam

HYDERABAD: Director Gunasekhar took a gap of more than seven years after his last directorial film Rudhramadevi and is now coming up with his new film Shaakuntalam. Starring Samantha in the titular role, this mythological epic features Dev Mohan as the lead hero.

Apparently, Dev Mohan was not the initial choice for King Dhushyanta's character. Director Gunasekhar wanted to rope in Dulquer Salmaan for that role. However, Dulquer signed Sita Ramam by that time and his call sheets were clashing with Shaakuntalam's shoot dates. So, he couldn't sign the film.

Later, he approached quite a few Telugu heroes but they were not interested in acting in a female-oriented flick. Thus, Gunasekhar signed up Dev Mohan. He is completely satisfied with Dev's performance in the movie.

Shaakuntalam is slated for a pan-India release on April 14. It features Mohan Babu, Aditi Balan, Ananya Nagalla, Kabir Bedi and Allu Arha in the other key roles. Mani Sharma composed the music for this movie.