Peddi Movie Review: ★★★½☆ (3.5/5)
Peddi is powered by a career-best performance from Ram Charan, who brings remarkable depth and authenticity to the role. While the emotional core, music, and visuals shine, uneven writing and underdeveloped supporting characters prevent the film from reaching its full potential.
There are films that try to say something. Then there are films that try to say something and entertain a crowd of thousands at the same time. That’s a much harder balance to pull off, and Peddi — Ram Charan’s big comeback after all the delays and social media leaks — spends most of its three-hour runtime chasing that balance. It gets there. Sometimes. But not always.
Forget big cities and glittering stadiums. Peddi is set in a nameless mountain village that doesn’t officially exist — no government records, no map listing, no right to vote. Around 1,500 people live there, and their one dream is simple: a railway station. Not for comfort. For identity. For proof that they exist.
In this forgotten corner of the country lives Peddi (Ram Charan), a daily-wage labourer known across the Vizianagaram and Bobbili belt as someone you hire when you want to win a sporting match. Cricket, wrestling, sprinting — he plays for money, plain and simple. But slowly, what starts as a livelihood becomes something much bigger: the only chance his invisible village has to be seen, heard, and counted.
That’s genuinely a beautiful premise. And for long stretches, the film honours it.
Let’s just say it clearly — this is some of the finest work Ram Charan has ever done. His entry will make theatres explode, yes, but what comes after is what matters more. He plays Peddi with a rough, lived-in quality that feels real. The helplessness of a man who can’t prove who he is or where he comes from — Ram Charan puts that on his face in a way that makes you ache.
There’s a scene in a police warehouse where Peddi pleads to establish his very identity. It’s quiet and devastating. The dance sequences are brilliant as always, but it’s these still, honest moments that will stay with you.
Shiv Rajkumar as Goranayudu, his mentor, brings a warmth and gravity that lifts every scene he’s in. Their guru-student bond is one of the film’s strongest threads. Boman Irani shows up briefly and makes it count.
Janhvi Kapoor’s character Achiyamma is the film’s biggest misfire. It’s not entirely her fault — the writing simply doesn’t give her anything meaningful to do. Her love track feels disconnected from the main story, and in a film that’s all about dignity and identity, her character is presented mostly through a glamour lens. It feels like a missed opportunity.
Jagapathi Babu as the villain is loud in places where subtlety would’ve hit harder. Divyendu Sharma is wasted in a role that exists mostly to set up action beats rather than tell us anything interesting.
Director Buchi Babu Sana, still early in his career, shows real skill in building emotional weight gradually. Even though the structure is familiar — entry scene, songs, interval bang, climax — he understands that if you make people care about the characters, the journey keeps them engaged. For a 180-minute film, it doesn’t drag.
Also Read: Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai Review — A Fun Throwback That Feels Stuck in the Past
A.R. Rahman’s background score is exceptional. It shapes the film’s emotional spine quietly, track by track. The cinematography by R. Rathnavelu gives the dusty village settings a raw, textured beauty. The VFX stumbles in a few places, which is a shame given how polished everything else looks.
Peddi is not a perfect film, but it’s an honest one. It has a big heart, a genuinely important story at its centre, and a performance from Ram Charan that deserves to be remembered. If you can forgive the weak writing around the love story and an underdeveloped villain, there’s a lot here that will move you.
Go for Ram Charan. Stay for the story. Just don’t expect everything to land.
Rating: 3.5 / 5
Released: June 4, 2026
Director: Buchi Babu Sana
Cast: Ram Charan, Janhvi Kapoor, Shiv Rajkumar, Jagapathi Babu, Divyendu Sharma, Boman Irani
Music: A.R. Rahman
Flickonclick Verdict: A heartfelt sports drama with strong emotional highs, Peddi is worth watching for Ram Charan’s outstanding performance and Buchi Babu Sana’s ambitious storytelling.