The Paradise: Kayadu Lohar put one scene on hold for three months, co-star says

Kayadu Lohar, one of the leads in Nani's The Paradise, reportedly stepped away from one sensitive scene and kept it on hold for close to three months. The story comes from actress Kranthi Balivada, who plays her mother in the film and has now shared what happened on set.

Kranthi Balivada says Kayadu had agreed to the scene when the script was first narrated to her. Once shooting started, though, she began to worry about how audiences would see it. Things came to a head when choreographer Brinda Master arrived to film the sequence. After only one shot, Kayadu reportedly asked the crew to stop, afraid the scene would look vulgar and hurt her image.

The makers did not push her. They reportedly paused the sequence, and over the next three months the director worked with her to settle her doubts. The team told her the scene mattered to the story and would be shot with an aesthetic eye rather than for shock value. They even pointed to the look of a Sanjay Leela Bhansali film to explain their plan. Reassured, Kayadu came back and finished the scene.

The story comes out while the film is still in its first week in theatres. Directed by Srikanth Odela, The Paradise stars Nani, Mohan Babu, Kayadu Lohar, Sonali Kulkarni and Raghav Juyal. It follows a tribe called the Savaari fighting for citizenship in the 1980s. Sonali plays their leader Sammakka, Nani plays her son Jadal, and Mohan Babu plays the feudal overlord Shikanja Malik.

Reviews have been mixed, but the mass action entertainer has reportedly given Nani the biggest opening of his career at ₹46.25 crore, premieres included. Collections fell on weekdays, but reports say the India total reached ₹101.23 crore by Tuesday. That makes it his first film to cross ₹100 crore in India. Most of the money has come from the Telugu version, though the film also released in Hindi and Tamil.

Nani has spoken about the split reaction online. He said that in 33 films over 18 years he has never seen anything like it, and that even the harshest criticism shows real passion for the film.