The Paradise OTT release: 24 minutes cut from Nani's film, Sonali Kulkarni’s trolled dance scene removed and VFX upgraded on Netflix

While the action and scale drew attention, viewers also questioned the lengthy second half, the violence and some of its creative decisions.

Nani’s The Paradise has arrived on the streaming service with a few changes, this time on Netflix. The Telugu action drama, directed by Srikanth Odela, is now available in a shorter version. The changes come after the film faced criticism following its theatrical release. While the action and scale drew attention, viewers also questioned the lengthy second half, the violence and some of its creative decisions. The Netflix version appears to have reworked parts of the film in response to that reception.

What changes have been made on OTT

The Paradise OTT cut: Nani’s film trims 24 minutes and removes the Dhumavathi scene that sparked memes.

The film on Netflix is running for around 2 hours and 30 minutes instead of its original theatrical runtime of 2 hours and 54 minutes. One of the biggest changes in the streaming version is the removal of a dance segment featuring Sonali Kulkarni’s character, Dhumavathi. In the theatrical cut, the sequence appeared during a fight scene and quickly became a talking point online, with viewers turning it into a meme. The scene was among the film’s most criticised moments, with many questioning why the dance was included in the middle of an action sequence.

Several reactions to the theatrical release pointed to a loss of momentum after the interval, with extended action scenes making the film feel longer than necessary.

VFX gets an upgrade, end credits move slower

Netflix India hinted at the revised release on X, formerly Twitter, with the post: “This Paradise is under construction & revolution 😎🐦‍⬛.”

What Nani said earlier

Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter India, Nani addressed the mixed reactions to The Paradise and said he could understand where the criticism was coming from. The actor explained that the people closest to him have always been honest about his work, regardless of how well a film performs. "I'm not from a cinema background. The people I'm surrounded with are extremely honest to me. There's no filter at all," he said.

Nani added that even his successful films have faced blunt feedback from friends and family: “My friends and family would say, 'We don't want to watch that film, we didn't like it at all...' So I was always very close to reality… I've always watched films in the theatre; I know that I am one among the audience. I don't think the audience is a separate entity. I always feel that if I like it, they would like it too... I'm one of them.”

The Paradise’s box office run and cast

The Paradise was one of the major Telugu releases of 2026, bringing Nani back together with director Srikanth Odela after their earlier success with Dasara. Produced by Sudhakar Cherukuri under the SLV Cinemas banner, the film also stars Kayadu Lohar, Mohan Babu, Sonali Kulkarni, Raghav Juyal and Priyadarshi.

The film made a strong start, reportedly collecting ₹76 crore worldwide on its opening day. However, the initial momentum did not last, and its collections dropped over the following days. It eventually finished its theatrical run with an estimated worldwide gross of ₹173.35 crore.

The Paradise started streaming on Netflix on October 22. It is available in Telugu, Tamil, Hindi, Kannada and Malayalam, with 4K Dolby Vision support.