Natural Star Nani’s The Paradise, directed by Srikanth Odela, is one of the most awaited films. Ahead of its release, the filmmaker opened up about the inspirations behind the story, Nani’s character, the film’s emotional core, the production delay and much more.
Asked whether The Paradise is fictional or inspired by real incidents and people, Srikanth Odela revealed that the film combines all three elements.
“It has all three elements. The braids on Nani’s character are inspired by my own childhood. My mother wanted a girl child and raised me like a girl, with jadal, until I was in second class. I also took inspiration from a real incident that happened near my native place.
“I grew up at my uncle’s home in Secunderabad. I didn’t see much difference between my hometown and Secunderabad. The Sawari tribe is completely fictional. I researched tribes in different parts of the country, but I didn’t find any similarities,” he said.
The director also spoke about the lessons he learned from Dasara and how they influenced his approach to The Paradise.
“I felt the second half of Dasara looked very classy. Many people thought it would be a KGF-type film, but when they watched it in theatres, they realised it was more of a drama. A few people were initially disappointed by the classy narrative, but the response became very positive after two or three days. I then felt it would be better to make a film in a completely commercial format,” he said.
According to Srikanth, The Paradise is not merely an action-driven film.
“Everything is blended into this movie. There is a social message, mother sentiment and action. More importantly, emotion dominates everything, even the action,” he said.
It is known that Mohan Babu plays the main antagonist in the film.
“Mohan Babu’s character is very powerful. He is indeed the main villain. Theatres will blast during the face-off between Nani and Mohan Babu,” Srikanth said.
Revealing the reason behind the delay, Srikanth stated, “I am the main reason for the delay. I failed to execute my planning properly, which caused it. But I want to clarify one thing: we did not go for any reshoots. We locked the script beforehand and did not make any changes during the shoot.”
The director, however, said he would not repeat the same mistake with his next film and would plan things more carefully.
