Telugu cinema star Nani and filmmaker Srikanth Odela have taken an unconventional visual approach for their upcoming feature project, 'The Paradise'. In an era where mainstream cinematic spectacles increasingly depend on computer-generated imagery, green screen backdrops, and post-production digital visual effects, the creative team opted to bypass virtual alternatives entirely. To deliver a raw and tangible portrayal of 1980s Secunderabad, the production crew constructed a massive real-world settlement spread across roughly 30 acres of land on the outskirts of Hyderabad.
Months of Manual Craftsmanship Rebuilding a Bygone Era
The core narrative of the film revolves around the societal turbulence, labor struggles, and survival battles fought by marginalized communities during the 1980s. To capture the tactile reality of that difficult chapter without resorting to artificial digital environments, hundreds of local craftsmen, skilled carpenters, and masons dedicated several continuous months to manually building the entire set. The constructed neighborhood features unpaved dirt roads, weathered and crumbling dwellings, claustrophobic alleyways, and period-accurate street marketplaces. The painstaking attention to historical architecture makes the location appear as an organic, decades-old township rather than a temporary shooting stage.
Architectural Pillars, Interrogation Chambers, and Moonshine Breweries
Key moments showcased across the film's promotional previews and teaser sequences were shot directly within this physical enclave. Production designers established several critical functional structures across the 30-acre expanse to support the storyline
- Arched Brick Structure with Gymnastics Rings: One of the signature promotional scenes shows Nani's central character, Jadala, hanging upside down from gymnastic rings mounted inside a vaulted building. This complex was erected out of real brickwork utilizing heritage architectural methods rather than synthetic facades.
- The Oppression Chamber: For scenes depicting the antagonist, Shikanja Malik, extorting signatures and forced thumb impressions from helpless laborers, a grim enclosure was fitted with authentic heavy timber planks, iron chains, and real metal shackles.
- Illicit Country Liquor Distillery: Staying true to the atmosphere of the working-class settlement, the setting integrates an expansive illicit country liquor brewing operation featuring distressed tin roofs and hundreds of real earthen clay pots.
Authentic Vintage Artifacts Powering Performer Realism
Rounding out the detailed period design, the set features fully functional vintage jeeps alongside enormous wooden gateway entrances. Opting for sprawling physical architecture over digital backplates provides the acting ensemble with an immersive spatial reality, allowing them to anchor their performances directly in the tangible textures, grit, and emotional weight of the period setting.
