Just four days after its release, The Paradise is facing an unexpected problem in Mumbai. Film critic and journalist Suchin Mehrotra has pointed out that finding a convenient show of the Nani and Srikanth Odela film has already become difficult in the city.
According to Suchin, forget about the original Telugu version, even audiences looking to watch the Hindi version are struggling to find suitable shows.
This is interesting because The Paradise was one of the most-hyped films and released in multiple languages, including Telugu, Hindi and Tamil. The makers clearly wanted the film to reach audiences beyond the Telugu market. Although they did not aggressively promote it as a pan-India film, there was an effort to tap into the Hindi audience, especially with the film’s raw and massy flavor.
The makers have also highlighted the performance of the Hindi version in their promotions. According to their figures, The Paradise collected around Rs. 5.50 crores net in India in its first three days. For a Nani film, that was seen as an encouraging start in the Hindi market.
But just four days after release, the situation in Mumbai appears to be changing. The number of theatres and convenient show timings seems to be shrinking.
The Paradise received mixed-to-negative reviews after its release, so it is unclear whether the reduction in shows is because of limited audience turnout, mixed word of mouth or normal theatre reshuffling. However, if there is still demand for the Hindi version, it would make sense for exhibitors to retain enough shows for audiences who want to watch the film.
If audiences are already struggling to find shows just four days after release, it raises questions about how strongly The Paradise has actually travelled beyond the Telugu market.
