‘The Paradise Will Deliver Action, Emotion and Shock Value’: Nani
Nani on The Paradise: ‘The Audience Will Experience Action, Emotion and Shock Value’
Natural Star Nani says The Paradise will deliver a powerful combination of mass action, emotion and shock value, while revealing that the film features one of the most challenging roles and action-driven performances of his career.
Natural Star Nani is gearing up for the release of his much-awaited pan-India period action entertainer The Paradise, directed by Srikanth Odela and produced by Sudhakar Cherukuri under the SLV Cinemas banner. The songs, glimpses and teaser released so far have generated strong buzz and heightened expectations around the film.
The movie is set to release worldwide on September 24. Ahead of its release, Nani interacted with the media and spoke extensively about his character, the film’s action, emotional core, Srikanth Odela’s vision, Mohan Babu’s role, Anirudh Ravichander’s music and several other aspects of The Paradise.
September has been a lucky month for you. Do you believe that sentiment will work for The Paradise too?
My career itself started in September. Ashta Chamma was released in September, and Bhale Bhale Magadivoy also arrived in September. I believe that positive sentiment will work for The Paradise as well.
What was your first reaction when you heard about the Jadal character?
Jadal’s look came directly from the story, and it felt very new to me. Most of the characters I have played so far have been relatable and felt like people we know. But this character is not someone who has grown up in a conventional society. You will understand what I mean when you watch the film.
There is a certain madness in the character right from the beginning. The audience will experience him with a strong shock value. I honestly feel that a character like this is very new to Telugu cinema. It also feels extremely fresh for me as an actor.
Your films have a strong connect with family audiences. How is The Paradise in that regard?
The Paradise is a film that family audiences can watch together. The mother-son emotion is extremely strong. At the same time, the film has everything audiences expect from a commercial entertainer. Families can watch and enjoy it together.
How has Anirudh’s background score shaped the film?
We have already worked together on Jersey and Gang Leader. But The Paradise gave Anirudh an opportunity to hold the audience with his background score from beginning to end.
He has done more than 100 percent. Srikanth and Anirudh are a killer combination. Songs like ‘Aaya Sher’ and ‘Yashu Nagula’ were possible because of their collaboration.
What can you tell us about Mohan Babu’s character?
When Srikanth narrated the story, he immediately said that Mohan Babu garu would be perfect for the role. But I had my doubts about whether he would actually do it because the character is extremely negative and brutal.
Srikanth went and narrated the story to Mohan Babu garu, and he was extremely excited. I was genuinely surprised by his reaction. He was the first person who believed, even while listening to the story, that this could become a very big film.
There are certain things his character does as the antagonist that will definitely shock the audience.
How has the pan-India audience responded to the film?
The content of The Paradise has reached audiences across different regions, and the response has been wonderful. Audiences in Tamil, Hindi, Kannada and Malayalam have shown tremendous love.
That is why I don’t want to compromise on the dubbing. Giving them the best possible version of the film is the minimum respect we can show for the love they have given us. The film will release in all languages with excellent dubbing quality.
Is this the film with the most action in your career?
In my earlier films, action was usually part of the story and appeared at certain moments. It was never something that the film was primarily projected around.
As an actor, I want to explore different genres. I don’t usually get excited about doing an action film simply because it has action. I prefer when a good story naturally demands action.
That is exactly what happened with The Paradise. The action comes from the story, and every action sequence begins with an emotion. Every blow has an emotion behind it.
You have also danced quite a lot in this film.
According to Srikanth, I am a great dancer! (Laughs) He keeps telling me, “Anna, it will look amazing if you dance.” He genuinely enjoys watching me dance.
I wanted to do it for Srikanth, and his belief turned out to be right. When the songs were released, everyone was surprised and celebrated them. I enjoyed that response.
The two songs released so far don’t feel like they are taking you away from the film. They are part of the situations. There is another song coming up. ‘Anjana Anjani’ was actually playing on loop in my car and on my phone even before ‘Aaya Sher’ and ‘Yashu Nagula’. It is a beautiful song and will be released soon.
Tell us about the mother sentiment in the film.
When we released the glimpse, we introduced it as a story about a mother talking about her son. Even the teaser was cut around the mother emotion.
The film begins with the mother emotion and ends with it. That emotion will stay with you. It gives you a kind of hangover experience. I feel that even three or four days after watching The Paradise, the film will remain in your mind.
Is The Paradise about a particular place?
The story is set in a place called Paradise and revolves around a tribe called the Savaris. They have no identity there. Nobody cares about their existence. Even if they are killed, no case is registered.
The story is about their rebellion for an identity. The film is set around the 1984-85 timeline.
When you watch films like Salaar or KGF, you may not necessarily know whether such places actually exist, but you connect with the worlds created in those films. The Paradise creates a similar feeling.
When you watch the film, you will enter the world of Paradise and become immersed in it.
How would you describe Srikanth Odela’s treatment?
Srikanth enjoys mass commercial moments as an audience member. Whatever he does, he instinctively thinks about how the audience will react in a theatre.
While watching the monitor, if he feels that a particular moment will get a reaction in theatres, he immediately approves the take. Whenever a scene comes out particularly well, he comes to me and says, “The theatre is going to shake, brother.”
That is his confidence. He considers the mass audience almost like a divine force. Mass runs through Srikanth’s veins, and that will connect with the audience.
There are one or two episodes in the film that he has made in a very radical way. They are among my favourite portions, and I believe audiences will be surprised and shocked by them.
You performed several risky shots yourself and reportedly suffered injuries. How was that experience?
I have the interest and patience to do them myself, so I performed almost everything. Maybe after another 15 years, I might leave some things to a dupe! (Laughs)
If a dupe performs the shot, I don’t enjoy it. That’s my problem. I always tell the direction department that whether it is a leg shot or a shot where only my hand is visible, I want to perform it myself.
When I see myself on screen and feel, “Oh, that is a dupe shot,” I cannot genuinely accept the compliment.
What was it like performing with the Jadal hairstyle?
Everyone was surprised when they saw the look. Every detail in the film has a reason.
What you see on my forehead is the Savari mark. If someone is forcibly taken away and tattooed, he becomes a Savari. The nose ring, chain and other elements also have their own significance.
The makeup took around one hour and 40 minutes, while removing it took another 20 minutes. Sometimes we shot continuously for 36 hours. My entire scalp would turn red.
The Paradise has the most challenging action blocks of my career. I may do more action in the future, but I don’t think I will work harder than I did on this film because of these braids.
Doing action with the braids was incredibly difficult. The film involves a lot of rope work, and the braids would sometimes get caught in the ropes during action sequences. Even the fight masters felt sorry for me and wondered how I was managing to endure it.
Tell us about Raghav’s character.
His body language is very light-hearted, but at times he becomes extremely brutal. There is a particular moment involving Raghav that audiences will really enjoy in theatres.
Sampath’s Biryani character is also very different and interesting.
What can you tell us about the heroine’s character?
The heroine has a very solid role in the story. Her emotional story arc in the second half is extremely important. It is also a very surprising character.
What was your son Junnu’s reaction to the film?
He is currently listening to the songs of The Paradise all the time. He even performed to ‘Yashu Nagula’ during Vinayaka Chavithi.
What did your mother feel when she saw you in the Jadal look?
My mother doesn’t like seeing me do very violent films. She keeps telling me to make happy films with flowers and girls, like Julayi! (Laughs)
How happy is the producer with the final output?
He is very happy with both the output and the business of the film. Everyone worked under tremendous pressure to release it on time.
The film had already faced the possibility of being postponed once or twice. This time, we were determined to bring it to audiences as scheduled without compromising on quality. Everyone worked day and night, putting in 24-hour shifts at times.
You made an open statement about Srikanth’s time management. Do you think that could affect his career?
I don’t think it will affect his career. When Pushpa was delayed, did that affect Sukumar garu’s career? A career gets affected when you fail to deliver a quality product, not simply because a film is delayed.
Srikanth never compromised on quality while making The Paradise. If there is a delay because you are trying to deliver a quality product, I don’t think that damages a career. Ultimately, the result of the film is what decides a career.
Which actor did you enjoy doing action sequences with the most?
Watching the action in this film is enjoyable, but doing it wasn’t always fun! (Laughs)
Every day Srikanth would put us into mud, rain or some other difficult environment. It looks great on screen, but doing it was definitely not easy! (Laughs)
How was it working with Keerthy Suresh for the song?
We have already worked together, so working with her again felt like a reunion.
Tell us about Sonali, who plays the mother.
Sonali has done a wonderful job as the mother. Just like the hero has gone through tremendous hardship, the mother character also required a lot of effort.
She worked in rain, mud and several challenging locations without complaining and gave the film as much time as required. She was the best choice for this film, and I believe she will receive a lot of appreciation.
What can audiences expect from the night-time action sequences?
The secrets behind the night action sequences are very exciting. Srikanth has written the fight sequences almost like individual scenes. Every sequence has been designed to create a strong visual impact.
Finally, audiences are coming to theatres with huge expectations. What do you want to tell them?
The audience is coming to theatres with very high expectations. Our entire team is confident that The Paradise will satisfy them and deliver the experience they are expecting.
We have put in tremendous effort to create this film, and I believe audiences will experience the action, emotion and shock value of The Paradise in theatres.
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