The Paradise Review, Budget, Rating, Story, Cast & More

A hero willing to bleed for his people, a villain who rules like a king, and a director trying to recapture old magic - this new Telugu movie had all the right ingredients on paper. So why does it end up feeling like something you've seen before? This The Paradise Review breaks it all down.

Movie Details
Movie Name	The Paradise
Release Date	24 September 2026
Lead cast	Nani, Kayadu Lohar, Mohan Babu, and Raghav Juyal
Language	Telugu
Genre	Action Drama
Director	Srikanth Odela
Producer	Sudhakar Cherukuri
Writer	Srikanth Odela
Music Composer	Anirudh Ravichander
Editor	Navin Nooli

What Is the Story of The Paradise?

Set in the 1980s, the film follows the Savari tribe, a community left without identity, recognition, or even basic civil rights, decades after India's independence. Their lives are controlled by Shikanja Malik, a ruthless local ruler played by Mohan Babu, a man who holds absolute power over the region and crushes anyone who dares challenge him.

Sammakka, played by Sonali Kulkarni, spends years fighting to get her tribe official citizenship, but keeps running into Malik's grip on power. It's her son, Jadal, played by Nani, who eventually steps up and takes over as the tribe's leader, going head-to-head with Malik in a fight for identity and dignity. One man rising against a system designed to keep his people invisible, that's really the emotional core this new Telugu movie is built on.

Telugu Movie The Paradise Cast

Nani leads this new Telugu movie as Jadal, undergoing a noticeable physical transformation for the role and taking on demanding action sequences throughout. Mohan Babu plays the oppressive antagonist Shikanja Malik, while Sonali Kulkarni plays Sammakka, the woman whose years-long struggle sets the story in motion.

The supporting cast includes Kayadu Lohar, Raghav Juyal, and Sampoornesh Babu in key roles. Raghav Juyal's casting, in particular, came after director Srikanth Odela was impressed by his intense performance in Kill, and Odela has spoken about how Juyal brought a raw, menacing energy to his character that fit the film perfectly.

Behind the camera, The Paradise is directed by Srikanth Odela, produced by Sudhakar Cherukuri, with music composed by Anirudh Ravichander, cinematography by Ch Sai, and editing by Navin Nooli. The film released simultaneously across eight languages, including Telugu, Hindi, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, Bengali, English, and Spanish.

The Paradise Review

Here's the core of this The Paradise Review, broken down into what actually works and what doesn't.

What works:

• Nani's performance is genuinely committed. He throws himself into the physicality of the role and manages to stand out even when the writing around him wobbles.
• The action choreography is solid, easily one of the film's strongest technical elements.
• The first half does a good job building intrigue, setting up the Savari tribe's world and their oppression in a way that pulls you in.
• Anirudh Ravichander's music, especially the pre-release track "Aaya Sher," adds real energy, both in the promos and at key moments in the film itself.

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What doesn't work:

• The second half just loses steam. It falls back on a fairly predictable, well-worn template instead of pushing the story anywhere new.
• Srikanth Odela, who impressed everyone with Dasara, doesn't really bring anything fresh to the table this time around, leaning hard on familiar mass-action beats.
• The violence gets excessive in places, and it ends up overshadowing some of the more emotional, character-driven moments that could've landed harder.
• Supporting characters, Sammakka included, don't get nearly the depth or screen time their arcs deserve.

Should You Watch This?

If you're a Nani fan or enjoy mass-action dramas with strong performances anchoring an uneven script, this new Telugu movie is still worth a watch, particularly for its first half and its technically sound action sequences. Just go in with tempered expectations, since the second half doesn't fully deliver on the promise of the setup.

If you're specifically looking for something that matches the freshness of Dasara, this The Paradise Review would suggest keeping your expectations in check. It's a passable watch rather than a must-see, especially given how much hype the Nani-Odela reunion had generated beforehand.

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Latest Movies Coming This Week

Along with The Paradise, several other releases are hitting screens around the same time, giving audiences plenty to choose from this week.

Avengers Endgame Encore – Marvel's 2019 blockbuster returns to Indian theatres with massive advance bookings, eyeing a record-breaking opening for a re-released film.

The Vvaan: Force of the Forrest – Sidharth Malhotra and Tamannaah Bhatia headline this fantasy-horror entertainer rooted in Indian folklore and forbidden forest legends.

Mahakavya Shri Ramayan Katha: – A mythological drama releasing in Hindi and Chhattisgarhi, starring Dev Sharma, Anjali Arora, and Rajniesh Duggal, directed by Abhishek Singh.

Love Lottery – One of the smaller regional releases rounding out this week's lineup, adding to an already packed release calendar.

Autobi – A Bengali film directed by Soumava Banerjee, starring Madhumita Sarcar and Saheb Chatterjee, releasing as part of this week's regional cinema slate.

This new Telugu movie proves Nani's star power is still very much intact, but a weak second half keeps it from becoming the knockout comeback fans were hoping for, making The Paradise Review land somewhere between a promising watch and a missed opportunity.

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