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

Nani's The Paradise reaches theatres worldwide on Thursday, September 24, and the wait is nearly over for Telugu audiences. Premiere shows are set to begin on the night of Wednesday, September 23, with permissions already cleared across both Telugu states. Director Srikanth Odela has built the film as one of the most mass heavy outings of Nani's career.

The film has cleared the censor board with an A certificate, and reports put its final runtime at 174 minutes and four seconds. The certificate, issued by the Hyderabad regional office on September 21, reportedly lists 21 insertions, deletions and modifications. A disclaimer was added, foul language was muted, a tattoo was altered, and several stabbing, bloodshed and torture sequences were shortened.

Other changes reportedly touched political and sensitive material. Crow imagery on the national flag was replaced, a politician's name was dropped from the subtitles, and references to a denotified tribe, an assassination, armed struggle and fictionalised history were modified. Smoking warnings were added and cigarette brand references were muted or deleted.

Set against 1980s Secunderabad and drawn partly from real incidents Odela witnessed, the story follows a marginalised community and its struggle. Nani leads a cast that includes Raghav Juyal, Mohan Babu, Kayadu Lohar, Sonali Kulkarni and Sampoornesh Babu. Sudhakar Cherukuri produces under the SLV Cinemas banner with Ishan Saksena as co-producer, and Anirudh Ravichander has scored the film.

The team skipped a theatrical trailer altogether and left the songs to carry the promotion. Yeshanagula, written by Kasarla Shyam in a Palamuru folk style and sung by Prabha Bangarigalla and Addula Jangireddy, turned into an anthem through Ganesh Chaturthi, and Aaya Sher followed with Jangireddy and Arjun Chandy on vocals.

The response at the ticket window has been loud. Worldwide day one advance sales are reportedly closing in on Rs 20 crore, with more than 202K tickets sold in a single day on the main ticketing platform. North American premiere pre-sales have reportedly crossed 800,000 dollars and are being watched for the one million mark, while 77 of Hyderabad's 78 single screens are said to be carrying the film.