The Paradise clears censor with an A certificate, opens September 24

Nani's The Paradise has cleared its censor formalities and the board has passed the film for theatrical release with an A certificate. Nani marked the news with a fresh poster carrying the line "Guidelines say A. But the content says Universal. READY." The makers had been saying through the promotions that the film would land an A, so the certificate is exactly what the team expected.

Directed by Srikanth Odela, the Telugu action thriller is set in 1980s Secunderabad and follows the "crows", a forgotten community fighting for identity and belonging. Nani plays Jadal Zamana, a man from the slums pushed into rising against the forces that keep his people on the margins, with a mother and son emotional track at the centre of it all. Mohan Babu plays Shikanja Malik, a role with negative shades, and reports say his conflict with Jadal is tied to the hero's complicated relationship with his mother Sammakka.

Kayadu Lohar plays Subalakshmi, and the actress has called it a major challenge because the character sits so far from her own personality. She spoke about the stress of getting Telugu right, wanting every dialogue and emotion to feel genuine, and said the workshops with Odela focused on building Subalakshmi's world and backstory while dialogues often arrived just before the shot.

At the pre release event at Shilpa Kala Vedika in Hyderabad, Nani spoke less about hype and more about where he stands now. He said he has received a hundred years' worth of love, praised Odela along with Mohan Babu, Sonali Kulkarni, Raghav Juyal and Sampoornesh Babu, and advised against wasting energy on people waiting for a downfall. He also thanked the Andhra Pradesh and Telangana governments for clearing the ticket price hike.

The box office signals are loud. Day one advance bookings have crossed 1.53 lakh tickets for a gross of 3.27 crore in India, and Dasara's 23.2 crore net still stands as Nani's biggest opening, a number this film looks set to pass. The Paradise, made on a reported budget of 200 crore, hits theatres worldwide on September 24, with premieres beginning the night of September 23.