It’s a known fact that male leads in the film industry do not feel obligated to accept any offer that comes their way. If an actor is not interested in a movie or the director, he simply declines the offer without a second thought.
We have seen how Vishwaksen discarded Arjun Sarja’s film and how Mahesh Babu denied the offer from Mani Ratnam. However, when it comes to actresses, they are yet to adopt this attitude, and Samantha is a prime example of this.
Samantha is currently facing the consequences of her hesitant nature in accepting to work with Gunasekhar in a project like Shakuntalam. It’s a known fact that Gunasekhar is a pale shadow of his own, as he hasn’t scored a hit after Okkadu.
Initially, when the story of Shakuntalam was pitched, Samantha turned it down. But Dil Raju intervened and convinced her, as per her own announcement. Her fans argue that Samantha made a mistake by getting “convinced.”
Shakuntalam turned out to be a disaster, and the promotional campaign was also halted. This event marked a significant setback for Samantha’s career.
In the past, although Mahesh Babu had success like Okkadu with Gunasekhar, he tasted a disaster with the same director in ‘Sainikudu’ and eventually never looked back at him. Samantha, on the other hand, couldn’t show her sharpness in rejection, despite knowing Gunasekhar’s track record and approach.
After the failure of Shakuntalam, Samantha’s situation has once again come to the fore. She had become the go-to actress for female-centric movies, with films such as U-Turn, Oh Baby, and Yashoda. However, after this incident, filmmakers may think twice before casting her in such roles again.