Peddi Review {2.0/5} & Review Rating
Star Cast: Ram Charan, Janhvi Kapoor
Director: Buchi Babu Sana
Peddi Movie Review Synopsis:
PEDDI is the story of an extraordinary man. Peddi (Ram Charan) lives in a remote, unnamed village in Andhra Pradesh and belongs to a lower caste. To make ends meet, he works in a jaggery factory in a town named Vijaynagar. Though the town is close to his village, it takes the villagers several hours to walk back and forth over treacherous terrain. Incidentally, a railway line runs past their village. Appalasoori (Jagapathi Babu), a resident of Peddi’s village, has been trying for years to convince the Railways to halt the train near their village for a minute, as it would make their lives easier. But since the villagers don’t possess identity cards and are not eligible to vote, they are not taken seriously by either the babus or the netas. Peddi is a gifted cricketer and, as a result, enjoys an insane following in Vijaynagar. He plays for the team of Rambujji (Divyenndu), the son of a rich patriarch in the town. With the elections around the corner, Rambujji’s father is contesting against Achiyamma’s (Janhvi Kapoor) father. Peddi falls for Achiyamma and even fights for her when Rambujji and his men try to violate her during campaigning. As a result, Peddi gets into Rambujji’s bad books, leading to disastrous consequences. Meanwhile, Gournaidu (Shiva Rajkumar), who runs an akhada nearby, is awed by Peddi’s sporting skills and asks him to train in wrestling. Peddi initially refuses, but later realizes that this could be the best way to earn an identity for his village and fellow villagers. What happens next forms the rest of the film.
Peddi Movie Story Review:
Buchi Babu Sana has written a story that must have sounded promising on paper. After all, it deals with a man with exceptional talent and a group of villagers struggling for their identity. However, Buchi Babu Sana's screenplay is interesting only in parts. The writing suffers as it is random and unconvincing. Buchi Babu Sana's dialogues are sharp and heroic, but the Hindi dialogues could have been better.
Buchi Babu Sana's direction is a mixed bag. Talking about the positives, he has mounted the film on a grand scale and ensured that it’s a film for the big screen. He has extracted some fine performances from his actors, and a few scenes are touching. The buildup he has done for Peddi using Boman Irani's character is intriguing. Some sports scenes are clapworthy and keep the interest going, while the scenes of the villagers are touching in some places.
On the flipside, the film is riddled with moments that don’t seem convincing. The villagers uprooting the railway track is supposed to be massy but seems silly. What happens thereafter also doesn’t work as intended. Some moments are puzzling. Peddi never tells Gournaidu what Virbhadra (Tarak Ponnappa) does to him. Assuming Peddi didn’t want to hurt Gournaidu by revealing it, Gournaidu should have at least checked with Peddi when doctors remarked that he was suffering from a long-term leg injury. Meanwhile, Rambujji’s character, a villain, disappears in the middle of the film and turns into a good boy in the pre-climax, which is laughable. The makers also forget to inform viewers of the outcome of the election, which formed a crucial part of the narrative in the first half. Lastly, the character of Achiyamma is treated in a shocking manner and will be criticized by the elite audience.
Peddi Movie Review Performances:
Despite the shortcomings, there’s no denying that Ram Charan has put in a lot of hard work and come out with flying colours. His style during the cricket scenes is mesmerizing and he looks convincing as an expert sportsman. In the emotional scenes, he shines. Janhvi Kapoor looks stunning but her performance is average at best as she’s massively let down by the writing. Divyenndu is dependable in the beginning but his change of heart later on is amusing. Jagapathi Bapu and Shiva Rajkumar leave a huge mark in a small role. Boman Irani is okay and goes over-the-top in some scenes. Ravi Kishan (Randhir Singh Sisodia) is fair. Prabhas Sinu (jaggery factory owner), Tarak Ponnappa, Rajatava Dutta (cop), Upendra Limaye, Tinnu Anand, Zakir Hussain and Rajesh Sharma are underutilized. Sooraj Pops (fast bowler) raises some laughs while Shruti Haasan adds to the glam quotient.
Peddi movie music and other technical aspects:
A R Rahman's music is okay. 'Chikiri Chikiri' is the only song that works big time and special mention should also go to Mohit Chauhan’s effective vocals. 'Rai Rai Raa Raa' and 'Massa Massa' are forgettable. 'Hellallallo' works for the visuals. A R Rahman's background score is functional.
Ratnavelu ISC's cinematography adds a lot of scale and grandeur to the film. Aegan Ekambaram's costumes and Nikita Jaisinghani's costumes for Delhi scenes are straight out of life. Amritha Ram's costumes for Janhvi Kapoor are stylish. The production design is well-researched. The action is entertaining but also disturbing in some scenes. VFX is not upto the mark, especially in the crucial scenes of the railway track. Navin Nooli's editing should have been crisper, as the film is too lengthy.
Peddi Movie Review Conclusion:
On the whole, PEDDI rests on Ram Charan’s terrific performance and a few massy, clapworthy scenes. However, the film suffers due to substandard writing, laughable developments and a stretched narrative. At the box office, it is expected to take a thunderous start in its original Telugu version, but its Hindi version may struggle to find takers.
