The Paradise is not just Srikanth Odela’s second film. It is also the director’s chance to show how much he has grown since Dasara. Interestingly, Nani has now revealed that Srikanth Odela himself felt Dasara could have been better.
Speaking in an interview with Pradeep Machiraju, Nani recalled how Srikanth approached him after Dasara. Srikanth Odela reportedly told him, “Sorry anna, I couldn’t make Dasara the way I wanted. Let’s take the next cinema even higher.” Nani says that moment itself made him commit to the next collaboration.
Dasara was a commercial success, but Srikanth Odela apparently knew the film was lacking, which we also pointed out in our review. He took the feedback seriously, spent around 7-8 months on groundwork, and then came up with The Paradise. For Nani, this was not something to apologize for. He saw it as proof that Odela was not satisfied with simply delivering a successful film and wanted to push himself further as a filmmaker.
But this revelation has now created an interesting talking point among fans. Some social media users are jokingly asking: If The Paradise also ends up underwhelming, will Srikanth Odela once again tell Nani, “Next cinema inka high iddam”?
The joke works because the pressure has now changed completely. Dasara was Srikanth Odela’s debut, so viewers were willing to forgive some of its flaws, especially since it was a success at the box office. The Paradise is different. It has a much bigger scale, much higher expectations, and a massive responsibility on Srikanth to avoid the mistakes made during Dasara.
More importantly, constantly going bigger is not necessarily the same as becoming a better filmmaker. The Paradise has to show that Srikanth Odela has improved not just in scale, but also in storytelling, writing, characters, and emotional impact.
That is ultimately the real test. If The Paradise works, Srikanth Odela’s decision to push himself harder will look justified. If it doesn’t, fans may keep wondering whether “next cinema inka pedda high” might become his constant replacement for getting the basics right.
