Actor Samantha Ruth Prabhu, who is gearing up for the release of her upcoming Telugu film ‘Shaakuntalam,’ recently visited the Pazhani temple in Tamil Nadu ahead of the movie's release. She climbed 600 steps barefoot and lit camphor on every step as part of a ritual to reach the temple top.
Samantha was joined by director Prem Kumar, with whom she worked on the Telugu film ‘Jaanu,’ on the trip. For the temple visit, Samantha wore a simple salwar suit. She also sported a black face mask. In pictures, she was accompanied by Prem Kumar along with her staff. In a video clip, she can be seen lighting a camphor on every step as she climbs to the top of the temple. Police were also seen in the video managing the crowd at the temple.
Meanwhile, the makers of ‘Shaakuntalam’ recently confirmed that the film will now hit screens worldwide on April 14. It was originally supposed to release in cinemas last week. Samantha plays the namesake character in the movie, the daughter of Menaka and Viswamithra.
Produced and directed by Gunasekhar, the movie will be released in Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam and Kannada. This project marks Samantha’s maiden collaboration with the filmmaker. The trailer of ‘Shaakuntalam’ was released in January. Speaking at the event, an emotional Samantha said her love for cinema hasn’t changed amid all the recent struggles. She said she gathered all her courage to attend the event.
In her speech, Samantha spoke about her rare auto-immune disease called Myositis which she has been diagnosed with since last November. “No matter how many struggles I face in life, one thing won’t change. That’s how much I love cinema and cinema loves me back. I strongly believe that this love will grow manifold with Shaakuntalam,” she said.
On the work front, Sam was last seen on screen in the Telugu action-thriller ‘Yashoda.’ In the film, Samantha plays a surrogate mother who can do anything to protect her child. The film turned out to be a hit at the box office and grossed around ₹40 crore during its theatrical run.
