Paradise Movie Review- Telugu (2026)

Movie: Paradise- 2026 

Director: Srikanth Odela

Cast: Nani, Kayadu Lohar, Mohan Babu, Raghav Juyal, Sonali Kulkarni, Eshwari Rao & Others

Music: Anirudh Ravichander

Cinematography: CH Sai

Editing: Naveen Nooli

Release Date: 24/09/2026

Language: Telugu

Rating: A

Genre: Community Conflict, Violence, Social Drama & Fantasy

1.75/5

Intention Good. Execution? From Paradise to Disaster.

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01. What’s Paradise Up To?

Set in the 1980s, Paradise creates a fictional world around a nomadic community called the Savaaris, living under the oppressive control of the powerful Maliks. Even after Independence, this community continues to live without proper recognition, freedom or dignity.

Shikanja Malik, played by Mohan Babu, rules over them like a ruthless dictator, while Sammakka becomes one of the first women from the community to openly challenge this system. Her son Jadal, played by Nani, carries his own resentment towards her and eventually lands in prison.

Fourteen years later, Jadal returns with revenge on his mind. Meanwhile, Shikanja's son Vikram Malik enters the political game, proving to be even more dangerous than his father.

From there, the film mixes community oppression, revenge, politics, violence, romance and a highly stylised fantasy world.

And that's exactly where my biggest problem with Paradise begins.

The Idea Behind It

The social conflict itself is nothing unfamiliar. Telangana and Indian history have witnessed several forms of caste-based oppression, bonded labour and feudal domination. The film clearly draws from that larger history of communities being denied dignity and freedom, while presenting it through its own fictional terminology and world.

The intention is sincere.

The problem is how the director chooses to present it.

Paradise repeatedly establishes a symbolic fantasy world — the Savaaris are associated with black, dirt, crows and poverty, while the Maliks occupy brighter, richer spaces and imposing structures. The film wants us to constantly understand who represents oppression and who represents the oppressed.

Visually, it's an interesting idea.

But the director keeps pushing it so hard that eventually the symbolism becomes an overdose.

At one point, it feels like an Avatar-inspired fantasy world has been dropped into Secunderabad, complete with Paradise Biryani, Hyderabad references and commercial extravaganza.

And I kept asking myself:

Why? Why is all this necessary?

The central conflict between the Savaaris and Maliks is serious enough on its own. The film didn't necessarily need this much fantasy packaging around it.

First Half vs Second Half

Interestingly, I didn't hate either half individually.

Both contain good stretches, emotional moments and some striking sequences.

But if somebody gave me the option to cut more than three-fourths of this film, I'd probably take it. 😂

That's how strange my experience was.

The problem isn't simply that the film is long or slow.

It's the lack of synchronization between the setup, the world and the actual story.

You can make this as a raw community-based emotional drama.

You can make it as a completely unconventional fantasy world.

Both could potentially work.

But mixing the two in this manner made the film extremely difficult to digest.

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02. Is It Worth the Watch?

Not really. Strictly OTT.

I had a serious absorption problem while watching Paradise.

The intention behind the story is easy to understand. The oppression, the politics, the mother-son relationship, the struggle for recognition — several individual elements do work.

But the way everything is packaged together is so disconnected that the emotional impact constantly gets interrupted.

Imagine taking the world and emotional intensity of a social-revenge drama, adding extravagant fantasy aesthetics, commercial hero elevation, excessive violence and then expecting everything to naturally blend together.

For me, it didn't.

It felt like the Paradise world flew into Secunderabad and started fighting the Maliks.

That's the level of disconnect I felt.

The violence is another major issue. Audiences have become almost immune to seeing limbs, heads and bodies being chopped off on screen, but Paradise still manages to make it feel excessive.

This isn't just a violent film.

Violence becomes part of the film's language.

And after a point, it becomes exhausting rather than impactful.

Who Might Enjoy It?

Very few, honestly.

Some viewers may connect with the sincerity of the social conflict and appreciate what Srikanth Odela is trying to say.

But general audiences looking for an engaging commercial entertainer may struggle with the execution, while viewers expecting a grounded social drama may question the fantasy treatment.

My Experience in One Line:

WORST TO DISASTER.

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03. What Clicks?

The biggest positive is the intention.

Srikanth Odela clearly wants to say something about oppression, power structures and communities that were denied basic dignity. The film doesn't feel cynical about its subject.

There are also moments where the writing connects emotionally.

The mother-son relationship works in several portions, the introduction has impact and the interval block is genuinely effective.

But once again, these moments are buried under the larger execution problem.

⭐ Mohan Babu — The Saviour

Mohan Babu is outstanding.

This is easily the biggest reason to watch the film.

As Shikanja Malik, he brings an aura that the rest of the film desperately needs. Watching him dominate the screen in a villainous role after a long gap is genuinely exciting.

The dialogue delivery, body language and sheer screen presence remind you why certain actors don't need excessive elevation to create an impact.

The OG is back.

For me, Mohan Babu is the only actor who completely owns his space in this film.

Nani

Nani attempting a completely different space is commendable, but unfortunately, I wasn't convinced.

We are used to seeing Nani in relatively subtle, relatable, soft and emotionally accessible characters. Here, he's expected to become an extremely violent man who chops heads and carries enormous rage.

Neither Nani nor I seemed completely comfortable with that transformation.

His performance feels messy in places, particularly during serious scenes. His dialogue delivery and pronunciation also become difficult to follow at times, and the Telangana slang doesn't always come naturally.

There were multiple moments where I was genuinely trying to figure out what exactly he had just said, despite understanding the language perfectly.

Raghav Juyal

Raghav Juyal as Vikram Malik had potential but is heavily underutilised.

The character itself isn't written strongly enough, and his Telugu venture occasionally takes you out of the moment.

Kayadu Lohar

A complete waste.

Her character is reduced to a largely glamorous romantic slut presence, and I kept wondering whether the story actually needed this track at all.

Sonali Kulkarni & Eshwari Rao

Both actresses do what the writing gives them and contribute well to the emotional portions.

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Technical Aspects

Music/BGM — Major disappointment.

Anirudh Ravichander has delivered some phenomenal commercial scores, but this is nowhere close to that level for me.

The biggest issue is synchronization.

At several points, the electric beats and guitar-heavy sounds feel completely disconnected from what's happening on screen. There are moments where the music feels unnecessarily loud and aggressive, while scenes that genuinely require emotional elevation receive very little.

Even the interval sequence, which works visually and theatrically, deserved a much stronger musical push.

Cinematography is okayish. The black-versus-white visual symbolism, dirt-versus-richness contrast and retro presentation are clearly deliberate, but they don't always translate into something visually powerful.

Editing does what it can, but there's only so much an editor can rescue when the fundamental screenplay is struggling.

Screenplay is where the biggest damage happens. The film has ideas, but they don't come together organically.

And the climax? Expected in one sense, unconventional in another, but ultimately another major deviation from the initial setup.

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04. What Went Wrong?

EXECUTION.

That's it.

The intention isn't the problem.

The actors aren't entirely the problem.

The basic conflict isn't the problem.

The execution is.

Paradise tries to be too many things at once — a social drama, fantasy film, revenge story, political film, commercial action entertainer and symbolic commentary on oppression.

Instead of enriching each other, these elements frequently fight against each other.

The film keeps telling us what its world represents rather than allowing us to naturally experience it.

The social conflict deserved emotional depth.

The fantasy world deserved stronger internal logic.

The commercial portions deserved better screenplay support.

And the characters deserved more organic writing.

Instead, we get a technically ambitious film where the ambition repeatedly overwhelms the storytelling.

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05. Finally?

Paradise is a film where I can respect the intention while completely rejecting the execution.

There is clearly a sincere attempt to talk about oppression, class, power and the historical suffering of communities.

There are good emotional beats.

There is a terrific Mohan Babu.

There are some striking sequences.

There is a strong interval.

But none of that is enough to save a film that constantly struggles to connect its world, tone, story and emotions.

The biggest irony is that Paradise seems determined to create a world unlike anything we've seen before, but the actual social conflict at its heart is something we've already witnessed many times — and the extravagant presentation doesn't necessarily make it fresher.

Instead, it makes the film harder to connect with.

⭐ FINAL VERDICT: 1.75/5

Strictly OTT.

Good intention. Strong ambition. Some terrific moments. But a terribly mismatched execution that turns Paradise into a cinematic disaster.