Srikanth Odela made his directorial debut with Dasara, starring Nani, and the film went on to become a big success. He is now collaborating with Nani again for his second film, The Paradise. Talking about his bond with Nani, Srikanth says, “We have had a special bond from the beginning, like brothers. Whatever I have in my mind, I openly discuss and tell Nani anna. When we were working on Dasara, we discussed the idea for The Paradise, and that’s how I ended up doing my second film with him.”
He said that the story is inspired by a real incident, but the story and characters are fictional. “My native place is Godavarikhani, but I grew up in Secunderabad at my uncle’s house. I didn’t feel much difference between my native place and Secunderabad. What I saw during my childhood around the Adilabad and Godavarikhani regions became the inspiration for The Paradise,” says Srikanth.
Talking about Nani’s look with jadalu (braids), he shared an interesting story. “My mother always wanted to have a baby girl, but that never happened. So, she dressed me up in a gown and even made me wear braids. I had braids until I was in the second grade. That is where the idea of the braids came from, and there is a lot of emotion behind it as well,” says Srikanth.
He also revealed that the tribe shown in the film is completely fictional. “The Savari tribe is not there. Even though I did enormous research about it, I couldn’t find anything. I searched around Telangana, Andhra, Rayalaseema and even Bengaluru for the Savari tribe, but I couldn’t find it,” he said.
Srikanth says that after Dasara was released, he received feedback that some audiences were initially disappointed with the film. “My intention with Dasara was to make it a good drama. However, based on the promotional content, many people expected it to be like KGF. Once they watched it in theatres, they realised that it was a pure drama. I received feedback that some audiences were initially disappointed with the film. But after two days, they got completely tuned into the film. It went on to become a blockbuster and set records,” he says, adding, "At that point, I felt that if we gave audiences what they were expecting, it would create a high commercial impact. So, I approached Nani anna with this idea. With the intention of giving audiences what they want, we made The Paradise."
He added that the film blends action, emotion and the mother-son relationship. “But if you ask me, I feel emotion dominates the action. When audiences watch the film, they will connect very strongly with the emotional aspect,” says the director.
The makers of the film announced a couple of release dates before finally locking September 24. Talking about the delay, Srikanth Odela admitted that it was because of him. “I failed completely in my planning and couldn’t execute it properly. There are no re-shoots, as many people thought, but it took more days to complete the film. The delay happened because I wanted to shoot things exactly the way I had envisioned them, and because of that, the number of shooting days increased. If I set a target for a particular day, I should ideally finish it within that target. But when I couldn’t complete it, we had to adjust everyone’s dates and continue shooting,” he reveals.
He added that if he is not satisfied with a particular scene, he wants to shoot it multiple times until he is satisfied. “Because of that, the delay happened, but there was no re-shoot of a single scene, and we went with the bound script. Maybe there were a few dialogues changed on the set for improvement, but there was no change in the story or any particular scene,” says Srikanth.
The filmmaker planned for a 150-160 day shoot, but it took 10 more days. The director said he learnt an important lesson from this film about planning. “From my next film onwards, I have to plan properly and not delay the film from my side."
The Paradise is releasing without a traditional trailer, and Srikanth feels that this will allow audiences to experience more surprises. “As I said earlier, cutting a trailer would have required a lot of time and, given the current situation, we could not dedicate that much time to the trailer. Whatever I do, I want to do it wholeheartedly. When I was young, we used to go to theatres without knowing anything about a film and get surprised by every moment. I like that experience. I would personally prefer audiences to go into the theatre directly and be surprised. For my next film too, I am thinking of bringing it to audiences with as few updates as possible,” he reasons.
Talking about his special bond with music director Anirudh Ravichander. Srikanth says, “Working with Anirudh is very comfortable, and he understands exactly what I am trying to say. When you have a music director who can understand the music playing in your mind, the experience is completely different. We worked like two friends working together."
Delving deeper into the music of the film, including the viral Yeshunagula, Srikanth says, “When I was in seventh grade, they used to play that song every day in the auto. When I told Anirudh about the idea, he did a fantastic job with it. Actually, I wanted to use this song in Dasara itself, but it worked out in The Paradise. I really like folk songs."
Though Srikanth has completed his second film, not much is known about his background and how he developed an interest in cinema. He revealed that Jagadam was the film that inspired him to become a filmmaker. “When I was in ninth grade, Jagadam was released and I watched the film in a theatre and decided that I wanted to make films too. After completing my intermediate education, I came to Hyderabad. I went directly to meet Sukumar garu’s office, where I stood near his gate for a few years to get an opportunity,” reveals Srikanth.
After doing that for about four years, Sukumar asked him to make a short film. “After seeing that film, he took me into his team. I worked on Nannaku Prematho, but most of the shoot happened abroad, so I couldn’t go there. Later, I worked full-fledged with him on Rangasthalam,” says Srikanth.
Asked about the Telugu directors who inspired him, he named Krishna Vamsi, Rajamouli, Sukumar, Sekhar Kammula and Puri Jagannadh.
Talking about his upcoming film with Chiranjeevi, Srikanth said that he wants to take a few months off after The Paradise. “After The Paradise releases, I want to take a three-month break. My brain needs some rest, and I told the same thing to Chiranjeevi garu as well. I want to spend some time with my family,” signs off, Srikanth.