Paradha

Paradha (పరదా) is a 2025 Telugu drama directed by Praveen Kandregula, starring Anupama Parameswaran as a village woman who sets out on a journey to the Himalayas, with Darshana Rajendran and Sangeetha Krish. It opened in theatres on 22 August 2025, runs 143 minutes, struggled at the box office, and streams on Prime Video.

What the story is about

In a remote village, women must stay veiled because of a belief that it wards off a curse. Subbu has always kept the tradition, but after a mysterious incident her devotion is called into question. Though she has hardly ever left the village, she is determined to clear her name, and sets out for the Himalayas with her aunt Rathnamma and Ami, a fiercely independent architect fighting battles of her own in the modern world.

Cast and characters

• Anupama Parameswaran as Subbalakshmi “Subbu”
• Darshana Rajendran as Amishta “Ami”, a civil engineer
• Sangeetha Krish as Rathnamma, Subbu’s aunt
• Rag Mayur as Rajesh and Harsha Vardhan as Madhav
• Rajendra Prasad as a tourist and Gautham Vasudev Menon as a photographer (special appearances)

Crew and music

• Director: Praveen Kandregula; writers: Praveen Kandregula, Poojitha Sreekanti and Prahaas Boppudi
• Music: Gopi Sundar, with Sony Music India holding the audio rights
• Cinematography: Mridul Sujit Sen; editing: Dharmendra Kakarala; production: Ananda Media

Darshana Rajendran returned to Telugu cinema after a decade with this film. Its singles included “Maa Andhaala Siri” (23 March 2025), “Yatra Naryasthu” (17 July 2025) and “Yegareyi Nee Rekkale” (5 August 2025).

Release and reception

Paradha opened on 22 August 2025 along with a dubbed Malayalam version. Sangeetha Devi Dundoo of The Hindu admired the writing and called it a “rare, brave film” that breaks the monotony of mainstream Telugu cinema, and The Times of India rated it 3.5 out of 5 for its storytelling and dialogue. Audiences stayed away, though: OTTPlay reported very low collections in its first days, and Wikipedia records the film as a box-office bomb.

Where to watch Paradha

Paradha streams on Amazon Prime Video. A Binged trade report said it was streaming there from September 2025.

More Telugu films like this on Tollywood Desk: Seetha Payanam, S Saraswathi, Maa Inti Bangaaram.

Sources: the Wikipedia article on Paradha and the reviews and reports it cites; our own cast, crew, release and OTT records.