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Star Cast: Ram Charan, Janhvi Kapoor, Shiva Rajkumar, Jagapathi Babu, Divyenndu, Boman Irani
Director: Buchi Babu Sana
What’s Good: Ram Charan’s powerhouse presence
What’s Bad: A bloated runtime, a highly problematic and forced romance track, and a chaotic screenplay.
Loo Break: Take one whenever the film decides to explain the same emotion for the 100th time.
Watch or Not?: Watch it strictly for Ram Charan’s career-best, but keep your expectations grounded.
Available On: Theatrical Release
Runtime: 189 Minutes
User Rating:
Imagine if Sultan met Manjhi the Mountain Man. Now imagine both of them deciding they need three extra hours to explain why they are fighting. That’s Peddi. The story wants to be about sports. Then it wants to be about class struggle. Then it wants to be about social justice. Then it wants to be about romance. Then it wants to be about sacrifice. Then it wants to be about legacy. The problem isn’t ambition. The problem is that Peddi wants Everything Everywhere All At Once! And no, that is not an Oscar-worthy effort!
Buchi Babu Sana attempts to pitch a heavy-duty, high-concept sports drama set in 1980s rural Andhra Pradesh. On paper, the core concept is deeply moving: an invisible, oppressed tribal community fighting for a basic identity – symbolized by their desperate need for a village railway station. To achieve this, the protagonist Ram Charan, must turn into a superhero-level athlete.
However, this script suffers from a severe identity crisis. It wants to be an intense social commentary like Manjhi The Mountain Man, an underdog sports drama like Sultan, and a massy Telugu entertainer like Pushpa, all at the same time, and it fails to turn none! The writing introduces too many variables – Peddi isn’t just a wrestler; he’s an eccentric cricketer and eventually a track runner. When you make your hero this overpowered, the hero worship literally kills the urgency of the storytelling.
Peddi Movie Review: Script Analysis
To be honest, the story of Peddi is brilliant. A story about a community that does not even exist on paper. How will they ever get identified when they do not even exist! Their fight for identity starts from begging several departments to at least grant them a railway station so that they could travel to the nearby village, and choose not to die whenever someone is in dire need of medical assistance!
But in order to fight for identity, Buchi Babu Sana’s story tries to blend everything – cricket, wrestling, track-running, and tribal politics all at once! Worse, the script hits a massive roadblock in its portrayal of romance. The love story between Peddi and Achiamma (Janhvi Kapoor) feels forced, completely disjointed, and written with a heavy male gaze that would make you feel pukish.
Peddi Movie Review: Star Performance
Ram Charan is the absolute life support system of Peddi. He delivers an incredibly grounded, physically demanding performance. He trains like a beast, looks entirely convincing in the wrestling sandpits, and carries his community’s emotional baggage with genuine strength. A breakdown sequence in a hospital in the second half proves he could carry the weakest of the script on his shoulders! Even the end monologue in the climax will assure goosebumps. But the story does not do justice to his talent here!
Janhvi Kapoor as Achiamma is, unfortunately, reduced to mere visual decoration. Despite playing a politician’s daughter who could have lent significant weight to the story’s political subtext, the writing treats her like a prop. In fact, her navel might have more screentime than her as the camera is obsessed with objectifying her anatomy, highlighting her navel and dropping pallus far more than giving her actual lines or character growth.
Shiva Rajkumar injects a much-needed adrenaline shot into the narrative as Peddi’s wrestling mentor. His screen presence is electric, and the film finds its rhythm the moment he appears. Jagapathi Babu brings quiet dignity to the role of the village elder, Appalasoori. A massive let-down is Boman Irani, Divyenndu, and Ravi Kishan’s presence! All three characters are completely unnecessary and slow down the pacing. In fact, Divyenndu, making his Telugu debut, is criminally underutilized in a flat, restricted character.
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Peddi Movie Review: Direction, Music
Director Buchi Babu Sana seems overwhelmed by the sheer scale of the film. He spends nearly an hour of the first half glorifying the hero’s aura and setting up an outdated romance – before actually addressing the real plot. While he executes mass moments beautifully, his direction gets utterly lost in a chaotic, melodramatic film.
The first half establishes the film’s world beautifully. The writing tries to capture the hardships, the dreams, and the social dynamics that define the protagonist’s journey. But then, the film begins repeating itself – Again. And again. And again. Every victory requires multiple speeches. The screenplay eventually becomes exhausting because it refuses to trust the audience. The film constantly explains emotions instead of allowing viewers to experience them. By the final act, Peddi starts feeling less like a sports drama and more like a patience test.
The soundtrack remains one of the film’s weakest links, particularly in Hindi. This becomes even more disappointing when AR Rahman is involved. The songs, however, feel disconnected from the narrative. Instead of enhancing emotional momentum, they frequently interrupt it. The Hindi lyrics often sound awkward and translated rather than organically written.
Peddi Movie Review: The Last Word
Peddi is a really good story to tell. But while it manages to become a Sultan meets Manjhi The Mountain, it clearly does not work for the Hindi audience! The length, repetitive writing, weak female characters, forced songs, and predictable screenplay all make the Hindi version struggle to connect emotionally. The saving grace behind the camera is the technical crew. Where the writing fails to generate organic emotion, the cinematography is stellar, capturing the dusty, rustic wrestling rings and raw forest textures. However, the editor of the film should have made the narrative clearer and simpler!
There are flashes of brilliance throughout Peddi. Several sequences showcase an exceptional understanding of visual storytelling. The sports scenes are energetic and very well choreographed. The emotional confrontations carry impact. The rural backdrop feels authentic. But the director constantly chooses excess. Every scene wants applause. Every moment wants tears. Every dialogue wants whistles.
There is a genuinely great film hiding inside Peddi. You can see it. You can feel it. You can occasionally even celebrate it. Unfortunately, that film is buried beneath layers of repetition, excessive length, and a screenplay unwilling to leave anything unsaid. What ultimately survives this chaos is Ram Charan.
2.5 stars
Peddi Trailer
For more South Indian Movie Reviews, stay tuned to Koimoi.
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