Peddi Movie Review

After winning accolades from all over the world with the RRR Movie, Ram Charan faced two back-to-back setbacks (i.e., an extended cameo in Acharya & Game Changer). At a time when he had to deliver a successful film at any cost to be in the top chair race, he teamed up with a one-film-old director, Buchi Babu Sana, for a multi-sport drama, Peddi.

Although he directed just one film so far, Buchi Babu Sana established himself as a director with immense potential by winning both critical and commercial success with the film, Uppena. He impressed A. R. Rahman with the script and onboarded him to score the music for the film and also onboarded ace cameraman, R. Rathnavelu, to provide cinematography. With an ensemble cast of Janhvi Kapoor, Shiva Rajkumar, Divyenndu and Boman Irani, Buchi Babu, made it clear that he is aiming to impress the PAN India audience with the film.

After creating enough buzz with a huge round of promotions all over India, the film was released in theatres today. Did Ramcharan score a blockbuster? Did Buchi Babu Sana deliver a highly emotional and engaging film? How did Ramcharan & Janhvi Kapoor look on screen? How did A. R. Rahman, score music for the film? Let’s figure it out with a detailed analysis.

What is it about?

As of 1996, would you believe that in India, there were 18000 villages which had no name and the people living in those villages did not have a voter card PEDDI(Ramcharan), is from one such village in Vizianagaram district in Andhra Pradesh. Appalasoori(Jagapathibabu), tried his best for thirty years to get a name and a railway station for his village but with no luck. What happens when Peddi, decides to fight it out to get an identity for his village? What were the challenges he faced in his pursuit of an identity for him and his fellow villagers? How did he use his natural talent in sports to achieve his goal? Why did he turn into a crossover athlete while trying to achieve his goal? Forms the rest of the story.

Performances:

Ramcharan, in the role of Peddi, delivered his career’s best performance. The way he transformed himself to look authentic in all three sports and the way he performed throughout the film, is simply outstanding. There are quite a few episodes where he did an amazing job with his performance but the hospital sequence in the second half, stood out. He breathed fire and made the audience teary-eyed with his performance in this particular sequence. In all probability, he is sure to win a lot of awards in the coming days, for his honest portrayal of Peddi’s role.

Jagapathi Babu in the role of Appalasoori, delivered one of his best performances. As a helpless man who tirelessly works all through his life to get a basic necessity for his village, he made us shed a few tears with his heartfelt performance. Shivaraj Kumar in the role of Gournaidu, did a good job as always with his performance. He elevated the role he played with his screen presence and restrained performance. Boman Irani made his presence felt with a good performance. He made the audience cheer out loud with his effortless performance at least a couple of times in the second half. Divyenndu did his part well but the character he played appeared underdeveloped. An actor of his calibre in his Telugu debut, certainly deserved a better characterisation.

Janhvi Kapoor did a good job with her performance in a couple of sequences in the second half but her role looked out of place in the first half. It’s not right to judge her performance in a role that is designed only to woo the masses. A bit more care should have been taken by the director during the writing of Achiyamma’s role and he also would have toned down the skin show. Shruti Haasan, danced well in a special song but the song itself was misplaced and appeared unnecessary.

The film had a lot of actors from multiple film industries. All of them delivered what was asked of them by the director. We can see the inconsistency in the performance of character artists but it seemed not to be the fault of the actors or the directors. Most of the character artists in the film, delivered good performances in some scenes and appeared loud in some scenes. A bit more care should have been taken at the writing table while developing these characters by the director and his writing team.

Technicalities:

A. R. Rahman’s music for the film is top-notch. In an era where audiences are used to hearing ‘playing to the gallery’ music in star-driven films, ARR’s songs and background score sounded very refreshing. He instilled life into a few not-so-engaging sequences and took a lot of engaging sequences to the next level with his brilliant background score. Five songs – Chikiri Chikiri, Rai Rai Raa Raa, Massa Massa and two more emotional songs, worked out very well in favour of the film.

Rathnavelu’s cinematography for Peddi, can easily find a place in his top two best works. His frames in capturing the dense forests and during the wrestling episodes, were top-notch. We can see his conscious attempt to stay away from giving the feel of ‘Rangasthalam, with the colour tone he chose for the film. He did a tremendous job in giving the film a raw yet stylish look. Naveen Nooli did a good job with editing in the second half. He deserves special appreciation for editing the shots of all three sports. However, he should have done a better job with his editing in the first half. Production design and art teams did a commendable job in giving the film a very authentic look. Production values by Vriddhi Cinemas, are top-notch. We can see the amount of money spent by the producer throughout the film. Let’s discuss the director and his writing team’s work in detail in the analysis section.

Positives:

1.⁠ ⁠Ramcharan’s Terrific Performance
2.⁠ ⁠Inspiring Emotional Drama
3.⁠ ⁠Second Half
4.⁠ ⁠R. Rathnavelu Cinematography
5.⁠ ⁠A. R. Rahman’s Music

Negatives:

1.⁠ ⁠Janhvi Kapoor’s Role In The First Half
2.⁠ ⁠Loud execution at Times
3.⁠ ⁠Visual Effects In Pre-Interval Sequence
4.⁠ ⁠Special Song Placement

Analysis:

A war and a sport, have the power to unite the people in a country irrespective of their religion, caste, creed and any other social status. Everyone across the country will wholeheartedly support the soldiers during a war and unconditionally support a sportsman during a match. For Peddi, the director, Buchi Babu Sana, selected a story in which the lead actor announces & eventually wins a war through multiple sports, to get an identity for his village. How far a man with undying spirit can go to get an identity and a basic requirement for the place he was born, is the core point of Peddi.

As long as the director executed the film around the core plot, it is engaging, entertaining and inspiring. And, when the director deviated from the core point and tried to add a commercial angle to the film, it feels a bit stretched and loud. Two blocks before the interval, emotional drama in the second half and Ramcharan’s career-best performance made, Peddi, a good watch. By the end, the film makes you feel emotional and lets you leave the theatre with a good feeling.

When was the last time we have seen star hero driven film in which the lead actor plays a vulnerable character & puts him through a helpless situation? Since the release of K.G.F: Chapter 1, on 21st December 2018 and its gigantic success, we have been seeing larger-than-life hero-worshipping films with adrenaline-pumping action sequences, one after the other.

Ramcharan deserves special appreciation for not opting for one such larger-than-life action drama and for selecting a rooted story with honest narration in most parts. Yes, there are a few blocks in the film which were designed to excite the fans and masses, but it is the emotional drama that worked in the favour of the film. It looked like Ramcharan truly believed in the story and gave his all to the film. We can see his desire to bounce back with a successful film, in almost every frame he appears in the film.

Apart from Ramcharan and the rooted story, the two other best things that happened to the film are the music by A. R. Rahman’s music and R. Rathnavelu’s cinematography. Both the renowned technicians lifted the film with their unquestionable talent, every time the director struggled with uneven narration. The way the wrestling sequences and the pre-climax sport episode, were simply breathtaking and outstanding. Especially, Rathnavelu deserves all the appreciation for the way he captured Peddi’s body language and expressions, which resemble a lion, during a wrestling match in the second half.

When A. R. Rahman’s name was announced as the music director for the film, a section of people raised their concerns. But, the ace music director proved all the naysayers wrong and yet again let the audience know why he’s the best in the business with his rooted and yet international background score. He complemented the director’s vision very well in the second half but in the first half, he stood as a pillar to lift the film whenever it deviated from the core plot.

Will the audience watch a rooted film if it is narrated with utmost honesty and without any commercial elements? For some reason, Buchi Babu strongly believed the answer to the above question was ‘No’. In an attempt to give the commercial touch to the film and to please the so-called mass audience, the director came up with an over-the-top characterisation for the female lead character. This is where the film lost the plot for quite some time during the first half. The dialogues, the costumes and the antics, for the character appeared loud and out of place. Even the placement of a special song in the second half, featuring Shruti Haasan, appeared out of place and unnecessary. When you want to narrate a noble story, you should narrate it unapologetically without deviating. Hopefully, Buchi Babu, will correct this minor flaw in his upcoming films. Another minor flaw in the film is the decision to shoot a very crucial sequence involving Jagapathi Babu, Ramcharan and the villagers, on the green mat. All the actors involved in this sequence performed very well but the poor visual effects make the audience get distracted. The overall impact of the film would have gone a notch above, had the director shot the sequence in a real location.

Overall, Peddi, has a few minor flaws but Ramcharan’s finest performance, first rate out from the music direction and cinematography, an inspiring story and honest narration in the second half, made the film a good watch. Especially, there are quite a few sequences in the second half, which have immense repeat value and are sure to be liked by all sections of the audience. Read the following – ‘While watching the final match on television at the house of a local politician and landlord, a lower-caste person initially tries to hug the landlord when Peddi wins the match but he backs off by considering the social inequality. However, the landlord, brushes off the lower-caste person’s hesitation and gives him a huge hug’. Kudos to Buchi Babu for coming up with a few such sequences to show the power of sports and their ability to unite people. The film’s graph would have reached the next level, had he come up with a few more such sequences instead of concentrating on adding unnecessary commercial elements.

Final Verdict: Ramcharan Wins Gold

Rating – 3/5