Nani reveals what went wrong with The Paradise: ‘The focus shifted from storytelling to set pieces’
Published: October 7, 2026, 8:55 PM IST
Share Article
https://www.india.com/entertainment/regional/nani-says-the-paradise-lost-its-focus-amid-bigger-scale-and-expectations-the-connectivity-wasnt-there-8533833/
Nani’s The Paradise (PC- Viral Bhayani)
Nani has opened up about the mixed response to his latest film The Paradise, and admitted that the team had to rush the post-production workThe actor said the film could have benefited from more time in the editing and scoring stages, but the makers did not want to postpone its release for a third time. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter India, Nani said the team was aware that the tight deadline could affect the final productThe film had already been postponed twice, and the makers eventually decided to stick to September 25 as the release date because the audience had been waiting for it.
“We’re in a place where we’re just thinking backwards, given the reactionsWe’re also aware of the timingWith the less post-production time, we rushed things a little bit,” Nani said.
Nani says The Paradise could have benefited from more time
The Paradise was initially scheduled to release on March 26The release was later pushed to August 21 and then to September 25By the time the third release date arrived, the makers decided against delaying it again.
The postponement also helped the film avoid clashes with Ranveer Singh’s Dhurandhar 2: The Revenge and Yash’s Toxic: A Fairytale for Grownups.
Nani said the team had to choose between giving the film more time and keeping the promise made to the audience. “This was the third release dateThe audience was so excited about the film that we didn’t want to give up on them because of the postponement that happened so many times,” he said.
However, looking back, Nani feels the film could have been smoother if the team had more time to work on it. “More things would have made sense narratively with the edit and the score, if we had more timeWe could’ve smoothened it out,” Nani said.
The actor also acknowledged some of the issues pointed out by viewers, including certain portions feeling “a little jumpy”.
Nani said it is impossible to know whether delaying the film again would have changed its fate. “We could’ve made all of that better, but we’ll never know, I guessWe don’t know if it would’ve worked better had we pushed the film,” Nani said.
For Nani, the experience is also a learning opportunity. “We all get carried away and do mistakesBut if we understand and learn from them, that’s the best way we can go ahead,” he added.
Nani says The Paradise lost some of its original focus
Nani also spoke about how the scale of The Paradise may have affected director Srikanth Odela’s original vision. The film marked Nani and Odela’s second collaboration after Dasara, which released in 2023 and reportedly earned Rs 121 crore worldwide on a reported budget of Rs 65 crore.
The Paradise was made on a much larger scale, with its reported budget estimated at Rs 150 crore-Rs 200 croreAccording to Nani, the increase in scale and expectations may have shifted the focus away from storytelling. “With The Paradise, Srikanth had great ideasBut when the span of the film went up, when the expectations went up, the focus shifted from storytelling to set piecesSo, the connectivity wasn’t there,” he said.
Despite the criticism, Nani continues to back Srikanth Odela and called him “one of the best talents we have”. “He’s a very, very original guyHe has a lot of ideas, but after stitching them together, his bigger vision somewhere got a little diluted,” Nani said.
The actor added that the mixed response was particularly difficult because both he and Odela had high expectations from the film after the success of Dasara.
The Paradise box office
Despite receiving a mixed response, The Paradise has performed strongly in several marketsThe film opened at Rs 11.60 crore from 900 screens in India, marking the biggest opening of Nani’s 18-year career. It also became Nani’s first film to cross the Rs 100 crore mark at the domestic box office.
Set in a Secunderabad slum in the 1980s, The Paradise features Nani as Sarakka, a tribal leader, with Raghav Juyal playing the antagonistSonali Kulkarni, Mohan Babu and Easwari Rao are also part of the cast.
