Peddi Review: A Roaring Ram Charan, a Film That Can't Keep Up

Ram Charan has the role of his career in Peddi. The film around him keeps tripping over its own feet. Two weeks after its theatrical release on June 4, 2026, that tension is exactly what the reviews and the audience chatter keep circling back to — a lead actor in full flight, and a screenplay that can't always match his conviction.

Directed by Buchi Babu Sana of Uppena fame, with a score by A.R. Rahman, Peddi arrived as one of the most expensive Telugu productions ever, reportedly mounted on a budget near ₹350 crore. The premise is unusual for a star vehicle this size: an athlete from a marginalised tribal village in Vizianagaram takes up cricket, wrestling and running not for personal glory, but to force the system to recognise his community and grant it a railway station. It is an underdog story with caste and dignity stitched into its spine.

So does it work? The honest answer, drawn strictly from what critics and audiences are actually saying, is: in parts, powerfully — and in parts, frustratingly not.

What genuinely works

The near-unanimous verdict is that Ram Charan delivers a career-best performance. Reviewers repeatedly point to his physical transformation and the credibility he brings to two very different sports on screen, cricket and wrestling, neither of which is easy to fake convincingly. The committed, almost punishing physicality reads as real effort rather than star posturing, and it anchors the film even in its shakier stretches.

The wrestling sequences, in particular, keep coming up as the high point. Several critics single them out as the strongest passages in the movie — they pair real emotional stakes with action choreography that lands. Where a lesser sports drama would coast on slow-motion and a swelling soundtrack, these scenes earn their charge.

The ambition behind the story also draws genuine respect. Using sport as a vehicle to talk about caste, recognition and the people society quietly forgets is a bolder swing than the average big-budget release attempts. When the film leans into that — the indignity of being unseen, the fight for something as basic as a station for your village — it finds moments that critics describe as stirring and emotionally true. A few outlets rated it as high as 3.5 out of 5, and the loudest praise is reserved for the idea at its centre and the man carrying it.

Supporting turns from Divyenndu and Boman Irani earned warm mentions too, and Rahman's music does its job in the big emotional beats.

Where it falls short

The most consistent criticism is about depth, not intent. The film keeps gesturing toward caste discrimination, economic inequality and political exploitation, then pulls back into familiar commercial-cinema comfort the moment those themes ask for real engagement. Reviewers who admired the ambition still felt the movie mistakes volume for substance — that it raises hard questions and then answers them with hero worship and broad emotional strokes.

Length is the other recurring gripe. At a runtime variously reported around 170 to 189 minutes across cuts, the narrative loses focus. The pacing sags, subplots pile up, and the film tries to be too many things — sports drama, social statement, romance, mass entertainer — without fully committing to any one.

The romance track is the weakest link by broad agreement. Janhvi Kapoor, making a high-profile Telugu outing as Achiyyamma, is widely seen as underserved by the writing, and so is Boman Irani. The love story feels grafted on, slowing a film that already struggles to stay tight.

A blunt way to put the split verdict: a roaring lead performance inside an unsteady film. Aggregated audience sentiment lands around 2.5 out of 5 in places, with the criticism concentrated on runtime, the romance and certain creative choices — even as the same viewers acknowledge the emotional punch and Ram Charan's commitment.

The Janhvi Kapoor row, and why there's a new cut today

The sharpest controversy is worth stating plainly and fairly. A section of the romance was built around the hero stalking Achiyyamma, entering her house and a kiss presented without her consent — all framed as light rural romance with the hero as her eventual saviour. Audiences and critics pushed back hard, arguing the film normalised stalking and non-consensual contact by dressing it up as charm.

The makers responded. According to media reports, the film underwent re-editing in the days after release. Director Buchi Babu Sana has since confirmed an extended version releasing in theatres from June 17, 2026 — today — with three new scenes, two linked to Janhvi Kapoor's character and one featuring Jagapathi Babu. Whether the additions meaningfully reframe the subplot or simply pad it is something this week's viewers will judge for themselves; early reaction to the extended cut is awaited.

It's a notable moment regardless. Big Telugu releases rarely re-edit and re-release a star vehicle mid-run in response to audience criticism, and the speed of the turnaround says something about how loud the objection was.

The box office tells a different story

Commercially, none of the mixed reviews slowed it down. The verified numbers:

• India net collection crossed ₹206 crore by Day 10, making Peddi the highest-grossing Telugu film of 2026 so far.
• Advance bookings stood at ₹20.66 crore ahead of release day.
• Reports put the worldwide opening day in the ₹112–135 crore range, one of the biggest of the year.
• Worldwide gross was reported around ₹279 crore by Day 8 and has continued climbing since; a precise lifetime figure is awaited.

The gap between the reviews and the receipts is the real story here. A film can divide critics, irritate a chunk of its audience over one subplot, and still pull crowds on the strength of a star at his peak and a premise that resonates. That is more or less what has happened.

Should you watch it?

If you go in for Ram Charan, you will not be shortchanged — this is the most fully realised work of his career, and the wrestling and sport sequences are worth the ticket on their own. If you go in expecting a tight, unflinching film about caste and dignity, temper that. The ideas are real and occasionally moving, but the execution keeps softening them for the gallery.

The romance and the runtime are the known weak spots, and the consent-related scenes are the reason a recut exists. The extended version landing today gives this weekend's audiences a slightly different film to react to than the one that opened on June 4.

A committed star, a worthy idea, an uneven film. On that, critics and the crowd more or less agree.