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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 hope the audience had in the Nani-starrer. The makers also organised 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 and Hi Nanna. This is his angry young man era, joining the world of Salaar, KGF, and Animal, where violence takes center stage and is what the film will be remembered for.
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 Halve Nots and has immense superhuman power. We see him come to the aid 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.
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 haywire in the second half and lose focus on the plot. This is while keeping the logic aspect out because, well, why even get into it!
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 starts to feel repetitive.
Kayadu Lohar plays the female lead. She has 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 eye candy. The character never contributes much to the core plot, which is outright disappointing.
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 like the makers were clueless about how powerful to present the antagonist of the film. Overall, the performances, barring Nani’s in the first half, are nothing worth talking or raving about.
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The Paradise Movie Review: Direction, Music
The Paradise marks director Srikanth Odela’s second film. His first was Dasara, which also starred Nani in the lead. The first half of The Paradise is decent, with a focus on projecting Nani’s power and influence. It focuses on world-building, while the second half was meant to focus on the mother-son angle and also address the community’s real issues.
However, the focus soon becomes creating forced elevation scenes with brutal and atrocious murder sequences. Hands, heads, legs, and every body part are randomly chopped in many sequences, to the point where it resembles a butcher’s shop. By the second half, I felt desensitized to any emotion that the film was trying to convey. Every emotion in the film is quite loud and out there, yet it fails to connect.
There are many moments, especially in the second half, that make you go, ‘What did I just see?’ and not in a good way. The editing is subpar, with poor-quality VFX that turns mass scenes into funny ones. I know I said we would keep logic out of the picture, but what land is this? Why is there no police or authorities to look into mass murders happening around them? It is also difficult to believe what timeline this is set in, as the costumes do not match the era. I have seen the deprived community wear costumes you might recognize from Baahubali. At one point, I just expected Amarendra Baahubali to come and save the day!
Now, the music is by Anirudh Ravichander. He brings some fresh beats to the film that very much suit Nani and his persona. We get to see Nani dance to the film’s primary BGM, and it’s well picturized. However, the film’s sound mixing is way off, and it just feels like noise. The mixing is so bad that it becomes jarring to the ear, and the moments of silence become the most valuable points.
The Paradise Movie Review: The Last Word
This Telugu movie is a letdown. The film came with many expectations, but even without expectations, it does not present itself as a decent commercial film. The film had all the elements to become one, but it falls short. The script loses focus as it progresses, and several unnecessary elements only add to the film’s runtime.
At 2 hours and 54 minutes, The Paradise could have been a much crisper, smarter-edited film. Albeit, it largely tests your patience and makes you question your decision.
1.5 stars!
The Paradise Trailer
The Paradise releases on 24th September, 2026.
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