Cast: Ram Charan, Janhvi Kapoor, Jagapathi Babu, Shiva Rajkumar, Divyenndu Sharma
Crew:
Music Director: A.R. Rahman
Cinematography: R. Rathnavelu
Editing: Navin Nooli
Writer-Director: Buchi Babu Sana
Producer: Venkata Satish Kilaru
Mega Power Star Ram Charan's Peddi has finally arrived in theatres after being a highly anticipated film for over an year. Buchi Babu Sana after his Uppena shot this film for 285 days and brought a cross-over athlete point to the table. How did Ram Charan fare and what is the movie all about? Did it live up to expectations? Let's discuss in detail.
Plot:
Peddi (Ram Charan) hails from a nameless village, referred to as Konda kinda ooru (Village in the Valley) and he is a cricketer coolie who plays for the team that bids high. Vijayanagaram and Bobbili teams bid for him and he always plays for Rambujji (Divyenndu) as he outbids Bobbili team by one rupee. Achiamma (Janhvi Kapoor), local politician (Rao Ramesh)'s daughter campaigns for her father to make him MLA while Rambujji's father is sitting MLA. Rambujji vs Achiamma battle grows to public humiliation range in cheapest way.
Peddi, who loves Achiamma goes against Rambujji. Hence, he gets humiliated on cricket field and looking at his playing style, popularity Gournaidu (Shiva Rajkumar) offers him to join his Kushti academy, as the wrestling sport is losing prominence. Meanwhile, Appalasoori (Jagapathi Babu) goes around every government office for 30 years to bring railway station and thereby an identity to his Konda Kinda ooru. What happens to him? Will Peddi take up Kushti? If so, why he changes to track and field? Watch the movie to know more.
Analysis:
Ram Charan delivered a very earnest performance. His honesty, commitment and hardwork are visible in each frame. He transformed his body to fit different sports and villager posture. His performance in hospital scene and climax standout. His dance moves in Rai Rai Raa Raa a d Chikiri Chikiri are good. Next to him, Jagapathi Babu leaves a great impression. Unfortunately, none of the others have characters that really leave their mark.
Shiva Rajkumar has a great screen presence and he did pull off Gournaidu role but the character ends abruptly. Many other characters too seem to change just like that and Divyenndu Sharma is criminally underutilised. Boman Irani has nothing to offer. Janhvi Kapoor scenes and character needed a lot more refining and fine tuning. There is a line between crass and edgy, her scenes don't land perfectly on that line.
Buchi Babu once again relied heavily on shock value twist in the pre-climax stretch and pre-interval. He seems to believe in melodrama rather than subtlety and it works for few sequences only and not entirely. Convenience takes over and hero's challenges also appear to be drafted out because hero needs some. With concentration on one sport also, the necessary identity could have been achieved without the final twist.
Technically, AR Rahman took over the moment pre-interval stretch starts and he did not drop the tempo till the climax. His music enhanced visuals and performances. Rathanavelu's camera work is good. Navin Nooli's editing is severely patchy and at places, shots did not sync with content. Production values by Venkata Satish Kilaru standout but this film really needed 285 days of shoot?
Overall, Ram Charan's performance saves the movie from being random and choppy. With concentration on too many sports, and village issues, the screenplay lossss focus. Also, the commercial template style narrative undermines impact. But for Ram Charan it is an eaay one-time watch and for trying something beyond action dramas this sports drama can be given a chance.
Positives:
Ram Charan's performance
AR Rahman Background Score
Kushti scenes
Cinematography
Production Values
Negatives:
Predictable Screenplay
Uneven pacing and editing
Janhvi Kapoor scenes
Underutilisation of Characters
Bottomline:
A complete one-man show of Ram Charan.
Rating: 2.75/5
Disclaimer: The views/opinions expressed in this review are personal views/opinions shared by the writer and organisation does not hold a liability to them. Viewers' discretion is advised before reacting to them
