The Paradise

The Paradise Movie Review Rating:

Star Cast: Nani, Raghav Juyal, Kayadu Lohar, Sonali Kulkarni, Mohan Babu

Director: Srikanth Odela

What’s Good: Nani’s Performance

What’s Bad: Script, Sound mixing, and poor editing

Loo Break: Anytime since the interval

Watch or Not?: Skip if you value your time

Language: Telugu

Available On: Theatrical release

Runtime: 174 Minutes

User Rating:

Nani’s The Paradise was promised as a mass commercial actioner. The audience also saw promise in the promotional material and placed their bet on actor Nani and director Srikanth Odela. The massive advance collection of the film reflected the audience’s hope in the Nani-starrer. The makers also organized limited premiere shows on Wednesday evening ahead of its global release on Thursday, September 24. Naturally, the film is coming heavy with expectations, and the big question that it has to answer is whether it delivers.

The promotional material of the film showed a lot of bloodshed through brutal killings. This was coupled with an addictive background score by none other than Anirudh Ravichander. This is a new role for Nani, who is otherwise known for playing heartwarming roles in films like Ante Sundaraniki, Jersey and Hi Nanna. This is his angry young man era, joining the world of films like Salaar, KGF, and Animal, where violence takes center stage.

The Paradise Movie Review: Script Analysis

The story of The Paradise is quite simple and straightforward. It is set in the 1970s and 80s and tells the story of the Haves and the Have-Nots. Naturally, our Natural Star Nani is on the side of the Have-nots and has immense superhuman power. We see him come to the aide of his people against the oppressive and powerful Maalik of the town, played by Mohan Babu. His son is Raghav Juyal. Juyal and Nani’s characters have been enemies since childhood, and that rivalry continues into adulthood. Raghav Juyal’s character’s core identity is the guy who wears chunky gold neckpieces, and well, that’s about it. And yes, the ability to flaunt his dancing skills at random places.

At the core is a strong mother-son story that is meant to be emotional but hardly lands. Then there are some additional characters who just join the narrative, including Kayadu Lohar’s. I honestly am still wondering what her purpose was in the film. If her portion were eliminated, it would not make much of a difference.

The film is divided into seven chapters, each with a powerful title. One of the early chapters is titled The Womb of Scar. Towards the end, a chapter is titled “Womb Of War”. But dividing the film into chapters never made much sense. The script and screenplay go off the rails in the second half and lose focus on the plot. Even if you ignore the film’s logic, it still fails to make any sense.

The Paradise Movie Review: Star Performance

Nani stands out in his angry avatar. He has a stellar introduction sequence featuring gravity-defying stunts inside a prison. The first half, especially Nani’s presence, is quite impactful. He brings in the required energy and keeps the film alive with his performance. However, in the second half, as the script falls flat, even Nani’s performance cannot elevate it, and it becomes repetitive.

Kayadu Lohar plays the female lead with very limited screen presence. Her character has financial troubles and hence resorts to making suggestive videos of herself and sells them for money with the help of her mother. Honestly, Kayadu’s character is reduced to being objectified. The plot does not even do justice to the character who resorts to showing skin to earn quick money. The character never contributes much to the core plot, which is outright disappointing, especially after the Peddi controversy.

Raghav Juyal was promised to be presented as this daunting villain. However, he seems neither daunting nor villainous. He seems one step away from slipping into the comical theatrics that he is known for.

Mohan Babu plays the cameo villain who arrives on screen, pulls off some punchy dialogues, and leaves. It seemed the makers were clueless about how to present the film’s antagonist. Overall, the performances, barring Nani’s in the first half, are nothing worth raving about.