# Paradise (2023 film)

Paradise is a 2023 Sri Lankan-Indian co-produced drama film co-written and directed by Prasanna Vithanage. The film is presented by Mani Ratnam and Siva Ananth under his Madras Talkies banner and produced by Newton Cinema. It stars Roshan Mathew, Darshana Rajendran, Shyam Fernando and Mahendra Perera and tells story of a married couple whose anniversary vacation goes awry in Sri Lanka.
It had its world premiere at the 28th Busan International Film Festival on 7 October 2023, where it won the Kim Jiseok Award.

## Synopsis

An Indian tourist couple arrive in the hill country of crisis ridden Sri Lanka to celebrate their 5th wedding anniversary. But, when things take an unexpected turn, conflicts deepen revealing cracks in their relationship.

## Cast

* Roshan Mathew as Kesav
* Darshana Rajendran as Amritha
* Shyam Fernando as tour guide Mr. Andrew
* Mahendra Perera as Sergeant Bandara
* Sumith Ilango as Shree
* Azher Samsoodeen as Iqbal
* Neeraja Rajendran as Amritha's Mother

## Release

Paradise had its world premiere at 28th Busan International Film Festival on 7 October 2023.
The film was screened at the Mumbai Film Festival in Icons: South Asia section on 29 October 2023 for South Asia Premiere.
The film had its European Premiere at Vesoul International Film Festival 2024, Chinese Premiere at Beijing International Film Festival, Austrian Premiere at Red Lotus Asian Film Festival and Swedish Premiere at Asiatiska Film Festival 2024.The North American Premiere was at the New York Indian Film Festival 2024 and Australian Premiere at Sydney Film Festival 2024
The film was featured in Features section of the 71st Sydney Film Festival on June 13, 2024.
Paradise was released in theatres worldwide on 28 June 2024. It is now available in Prime Video, Manorama Max and Simply South.

### Festival appearances

| Year | Festival |
| 2023 | Busan International Film Festival |
| 2023 | Mumbai Academy of the Moving Image (MAMI) |
| 2023 | International Film Festival of Kerala |
| 2023 | Dharamshala International Film Festival |
| 2024 | Vesoul International Film Festival |
| 2024 | Bengaluru International Film Festival |
| 2024 | Las Palmas De Gran Canaria International Film Festival |
| 2024 | Pune International Film Festival |
| 2024 | Shanghai International Film Festival |
| 2024 | Beijing International Film Festival |
| 2024 | New York Indian Film Festival |
| 2024 | Sydney Film Festival |
| 2024 | Cinevesture International Film Festival |
| 2024 | Indo German Film Week Festival |
| 2024 | Indian Film Festival of Melbourne |
| 2024 | Red Lotus Asian Film Festival |
| 2024 | Asiatiska Film Festivalen |
| 2024 | XVII International Film Festival Orenburg |
| 2024 | Kazan International Film Festival |
| 2024 | 7th Ha Noi International Film Festival |

## Reception

On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes website, the film has an approval rating of 100% based on 7 reviews, with an average rating of 7.6/10.
Lee Marshall reviewing for ScreenDaily at Busan wrote, "Moving through the narrative with admirable dexterity, despite some contrived passages, it's a well-made drama buoyed up by a raft of fine performances."
Saibal Chatterjee reviewing for NDTV rated the film 4.5/5 and wrote, "Unswerving in its grasp of both philosophy and psychology, Prasanna Vithanage's Paradise is a masterly evocation of the frailty of 'man' when faced with a crisis."
Santanu Das reviewing for Hindustan Times dubbed the film as "a stirring, important piece of work" and wrote, "As the drama inches its way closer to that shocking denouement, Paradise grapples to interrogate questions around politics and the state."
Priyanka Sundar reviewing for Firstpost at Mumbai Film Festival rated the film 3.5/5 and wrote, "By the end, whose side you are on speaks volumes about who you are as a person than of the film itself, the film brings about this reflection of self, and of society with poignancy and that more than anything makes Paradise a winner."
Deepa Gahlot of Rediff.com rated 4/5 stars and observed, "Prasanna Vithanage's Parasdise leaves the audience to read between the lines and draw their own conclusions about the frailty of human nature, and how easily violence seizes the most unexpected prey."

## Accolades

The film won Kim Jiseok award at Busan International Film Festival, which is given to 2 films from the selected 10 films in the competition category for the Asian directors who have directed more than 3 feature films, and present their new film for premiere in the festival.
| Award | Date of ceremony | Category | Recipient(s) | Result |
| Busan International Film Festival | 13 October 2023 | Kim Jiseok Award | Prasanna Vithanage | Won |
| Vesoul International Film Festival of Asian Cinema | 13 February 2024 | Golden Cyclo | Prasanna Vithanage | Nominated |
| Vesoul International Film Festival of Asian Cinema | 13 February 2024 | Prix du Jury Lycéen | Prasanna Vithanage | Won |
| Asian Film Awards | 10 March 2024 | Best Film | Paradise | Nominated |
| Asian Film Awards | 10 March 2024 | Best Director | Prasanna Vithanage | Nominated |
| Asian Film Awards | 10 March 2024 | Best Editing | A. Sreekar Prasad | Nominated |
| Asian Film Awards | 10 March 2024 | Best Screenplay | Prasanna Vithanage and Anushka Senanayake | Nominated |
| New York Indian Film Festival | June 2024 | Best Director | Prasanna Vithanage | Nominated |
| New York Indian Film Festival | June 2024 | Best Actor | Roshan Mathew | Nominated |
| New York Indian Film Festival | June 2024 | Best Actress | Darshana Rajendran | Nominated |
| FIPRESCI Grand Prix 2023 | | Best Film | Paradise | Nominated |
| Indian Film Festival of Melbourne | | Best Film Subcontinent | Paradise | Nominated |
| Las Palmas de Gran Canaria International Film Festival | 27 April 2024 | Audience Jury Award | Prasanna Vithanage | Won |