Movie Name : The Paradise
Release Date : September 24, 2026
123telugu.com Rating : 2.75/5
Starring : Nani, Mohan Babu, Kayadu Lohar, Raghav Juyal,Sampoornesh Babu, Sonali Kulkarni and Others
Director : Srikanth Odela
Producer : Sudhakar Cherukuri
Music Director : Anirudh Ravichander
Cinematographer : Ch Sai
Editor : Navin Nooli
Related Links : Trailer
Natural Star Nani’s The Paradise directed by Srikanth Odela created massive pre-release buzz, and amidst huge fan frenzy it has now hit the big screens. Let’s see how the movie is.
Story:
The Paradise revolves around an oppressed tribe called Savaari. Even after India attaining independence, they continue to live without an identity in the country under the ruthless monarch Shikanja Malik (Mohan Babu). How Jadal (Nani) rises against Shikanja Malik and fights to bring an identity to his people forms the crux of the story.
Plus Points:
One of the main highlights of The Paradise is its well-designed action episodes. The makers have gone all out without compromising on the budget, and the efforts are clearly visible in this aspect.
The film opens well with a disturbing sequence around the protagonist’s birth, and it sets the tone nicely for what’s to come. The movie works occasionally in the first half, with the cafe fight and interval portions standing out.
Nani has been effectively portraying mass roles in his recent outings, and with The Paradise, he once again delivers a sincere performance. The actor underwent a physical transformation for the character and did pretty well in the demanding fight sequences. Aaya Sher and Yeshanagula provide some respite.
Minus Points:
The biggest gripe about The Paradise is undoubtedly Srikanth Odela. Not only did he opt for an age-old template, but he also added nothing exciting to the screenplay to make the goings-on interesting. Audiences have started looking past routine stories when the presentation is good. But when that element doesn’t work fully, it’s tough to hold the attention throughout.
After a while, one will start wondering if the director has any ideas up his sleeve apart from the bloodbath and massacres to keep the proceedings going. Apart from Nani, no other character registers strongly. Even Sonali Kulkarni’s role loses its impact after a point.
The Paradise follows a chapter-wise narration, but by the time the movie concludes, one can barely remember them. There is a resemblance to many popular mass films, but The Paradise struggles to recreate their magic. The references to a famous Telangana political leader might draw whistles in Telangana, but the rest might not relate to them much.
The second half, in particular, is mostly boring without any high moments. The climax face-off should have been between Nani and Mohan Babu, but instead, we get to see a routine showdown involving cops. The heroine track is absurdly written, and it will surely raise eyebrows. Mohan Babu gets very little to do, while Sampoornesh Babu and Raghav Juyal are completely wasted.
Technical Aspects:
Anirudh’s songs work, but when it comes to the background score, he too can’t do much with the lack of support from the writing department. The sound mixing is bad, and the dialogues at times are not audible. The editing is abrupt, lacking seamless transitions from scene to scene. Even before we could feel anything, the next scene jumps in. Some scenes make us feel that the post-production was rushed.
Cinematography by CH Sai is solid, while the production values are excellent. Efforts are put in to make a larger-than-life film, but similar endeavours were needed regarding the story and screenplay. When the first glimpse dropped, many expected Srikanth Odela to deliver a hard-hitting film, but his work is certainly below par.
Verdict:
On the whole, The Paradise is a routine mass action drama with the fight blocks coming out well. Nani’s sincere performance, the pre-interval to interval stretch, and the chartbuster songs work, but the rest isn’t anywhere near what the team promised. The template storyline has been told in an underwhelming manner. Expectations were massive for Srikanth Odela, but he didn’t meet them with this one. Hence, the film ends up being a below average watch.
123telugu.com Rating: 2.75/5
Reviewed by 123telugu Team
