So, I watched Paradise, folks. Oh man, what a movie—I mean, seriously, what a movie. We really need to talk about it. But first, let me ward off the evil eye from this Website—protect it from the evil gaze of filmmakers, courts, police, blind fanboys, the general public, and even my own haters. Spit, spit, spit, spit.You know, the way they refused to label this a “Pan-India” movie during interviews? They were absolutely right to do so, because it simply isn’t one. It’s going to appeal only to that specific community—the die-hard fans of Nani.
Even the ending won’t make sense to audiences in the North, East, or West; only those familiar with the specific political context will grasp it. So, it was the right call to admit upfront that it isn’t a Pan-India film. I went to the 12:15 PM show at a single-screen theater because they didn’t even deem it necessary to screen it in multiplexes. As for the storyline, it revolves around a community that has yet to gain recognition and is fighting for its identity and rights.
Opposing them are the upper-class elites who rule over this place—this “Paradise.” The story moves forward based on this quest for identity—so rapidly, in fact, that it doesn’t even look back to see if the audience is keeping up or getting left behind. What bothers me the most is the situation with Nani; while his potential has certainly been fully utilized here—and he has taken on a very different kind of role—the context in which he was used feels wrong. And Raghav Juyal—what were the makers thinking when they cast a talented dancer like him to act opposite Nani? I know Raghav absolutely killed it in the movie Kill, but I’ve seen that psychopathic villainous persona completely squandered in this film.
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People were actually laughing when he made his entry; I won’t even repeat the word the guy next to me used at that moment. Also, this is a nearly three-hour movie that—honestly speaking—could have easily wrapped up in an hour or an hour and a half. I’ll definitely discuss the editing in detail on DDC (Dil Dosti Cinema). This was the first time I actually walked out of the theater at the interval, but my brother dragged me back in, saying, “Come on, man, it’s Nani; he’s going to crush it in the second half—just watch.” I let the first half slide and gave in—thinking, “Alright, fair enough, it’s Nani, let’s see the second half.”
And after the second half, I felt like shooting my brother—with a ‘Santra Goli’ (orange candy), that is. I just can’t wrap my head around the ‘mastercraft’ of this movie. I’m realizing now that maybe my own brain is the problem—viewing such highly detailed films through the wrong lens. I need to change my glasses. One minute. Right, so the first ten minutes and the interval sequence were mind-blowing. The interval scene was the absolute peak of the entire movie. But that was about it; there were maybe only 20 good minutes in the whole film, and the rest was… well, let’s just say it was on a ‘Martin’ level.
Anirudh’s music feels loud and forced; two songs are good, but the BGM was so loud that the dialogue was unintelligible in places. But speaking of dialogue—I watched the Hindi version, and I’m actually going to bump up the movie’s rating by a star just because of Sanket Mhatre’s dubbing. Sanket definitely deserves a star for how he elevated Nani’s rough character with that grumpy tone of his.
So, all things considered, I’m giving this movie one out of five stars. If you want to watch it, by all means, go ahead—there’s no profanity or vulgarity; it’s a completely family-friendly movie. And if you’ve already seen it, do let me know in the comments what you thought of it. See you in the next review post. Bye.
