Ram Charan had delivered something different—a transformation so complete it unlocked new dimensions.
On the morning of June 4th, a million tickets had already changed hands before the first frame of Peddi flickered on any screen — a quiet testament to the weight a single film can carry when it becomes the vessel for collective longing. Ram Charan, stepping out from the long shadow of dynasty, trained his body and stilled his ego for months to inhabit a wrestler's life, and the audience responded before they had even witnessed the result. What unfolds now is the oldest story in cinema: the gap between anticipation and arrival, between the promise a star makes and the truth a film delivers.
- Over a million tickets sold before a single premiere show began, with advance bookings surpassing Rs 35 crore and climbing at 22,000 tickets per hour — the opening-day Rs 100 crore target felt less like a forecast and more like a foregone conclusion.
- Early reviews fractured the euphoria slightly, flagging an uneven first half, a thinly written heroine arc, and a villain whose presence crowded out the film's emotional core.
- Ram Charan's physical and dramatic transformation drew near-universal praise, with critics calling it career-defining, while A.R. Rahman's score was described as among his most emotionally resonant work in years.
- Government-sanctioned ticket price hikes, celebrity endorsements from Pawan Kalyan and Samantha Ruth Prabhu, and a fan breaching security to touch the actor's feet all painted a picture of a film that had already outgrown the cinema hall.
- The real verdict now rests on the second half — whether Peddi sustains its momentum or settles into the long list of films that opened big and faded quietly.
By the time the sun rose on June 4th, Peddi had already made its argument in numbers. More than a million tickets sold, Rs 35 crore in advance bookings, and a pace of over 22,000 tickets per hour on BookMyShow alone — the Rs 100 crore opening day was being spoken of not as a possibility but as an inevitability. For a sports drama built around wrestling and the will to rise, the pre-release momentum felt almost poetically appropriate.
Director Buchi Babu Sana, who had announced himself with the intimate romance Uppena, was now navigating the full weight of big-budget Telugu cinema. Ram Charan had spent three to four months training in wrestling under the same coach who prepared Aamir Khan for Dangal, and the film placed him opposite Janhvi Kapoor — a pairing that quietly echoed the on-screen chemistry their parents, Chiranjeevi and Sridevi, had shared decades earlier. A.R. Rahman composed the music, and the government of Telangana approved special premiere shows and a ticket price hike to match the occasion.
Premiere reviews were complicated but not discouraging. Critics found the first half uneven — the romantic track felt peripheral, the villain's arc too dominant — but the stretch leading into the interval and the song 'Massa Massa' drew consistent praise. What nearly every reviewer agreed on was that Ram Charan had done something new. The word 'career-defining' appeared more than once. Rahman's compositions were called some of his finest in years. The second half, reviewers noted carefully, would decide whether Peddi became a landmark or merely a hit.
Around the film, the world had arranged itself in support. Pawan Kalyan issued a statement. Samantha Ruth Prabhu posted her excitement. SS Rajamouli's son and other pillars of Telugu cinema sent their blessings. At a promotional event, an overwhelmed fan broke through security to reach Ram Charan; after the situation was contained, the actor quietly allowed the man to meet him, touch his feet, and offer his gratitude. Ram Charan's wife Upasana cheered at a Hyderabad screening alongside fans, and his family's public warmth felt like a collective exhale held just a moment longer.
What the opening numbers could not yet answer was the deeper question: whether this would be the film that separated Ram Charan from his inheritance and established him as a solo force — the first Rs 500 crore film he could call entirely his own. RRR had been shared with Jr. NTR. Peddi belonged to him alone. As the first shows began and the second half unspooled before audiences across Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, the machinery of anticipation gave way to the only thing that has ever mattered — whether the film itself could hold the weight of everything placed upon it.
The numbers arrived first, then the noise. By early morning on June 4th, Ram Charan's sports drama Peddi had already sold more than a million tickets before a single premiere show had even begun. Trade analysts were calling it a certainty: the film would cross Rs 100 crore on its opening day worldwide, a threshold that seemed less like a prediction and more like a statement of fact. The advance bookings had climbed past Rs 35 crore, and in the final hours before release, the film was moving over 22,000 tickets per hour on BookMyShow alone.
What made Peddi different was not just the scale of anticipation but its texture. This was a sports drama directed by Buchi Babu Sana, a filmmaker who had made a successful debut with Uppena and was now stepping into the deep end of big-budget cinema. Ram Charan, son of megastar Chiranjeevi, had spent three to four months training in wrestling to prepare for the role, working with the same trainer who had coached Aamir Khan for Dangal. The film paired him with Janhvi Kapoor, daughter of the late Sridevi—a pairing that stirred nostalgia among older audiences who remembered Chiranjeevi and Sridevi's on-screen chemistry from films made decades earlier. A.R. Rahman, the Oscar-winning composer, had created the music and background score.
The early reviews that trickled in from premiere screenings painted a complicated picture. Some critics found the first half uneven, with Janhvi's romantic track feeling like filler and the villain's character overshadowing the core narrative. But nearly all of them agreed on one thing: Ram Charan had delivered something different. One reviewer described it as a career-defining performance, a transformation so complete that it seemed to unlock new dimensions of the actor. The stretch from the pre-interval block through the song "Massa Massa" emerged as the film's strongest passage. Rahman's compositions were consistently praised as among his finest work in years, elevating scenes with emotional depth and grandeur. The second half, reviewers suggested, would determine whether Peddi became a landmark film or merely a successful one.
The machinery around the film had been greased by government support. The Telangana government approved special premiere shows and a ticket price hike across the state, a decision designed to capitalize on the momentum. Pawan Kalyan, the actor and Deputy Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, had issued a statement calling Peddi a story that reflected the spirit of perseverance and the determination to rise against all odds. Samantha Ruth Prabhu posted on Instagram that she hadn't felt this excited about a film in a long time. Director Sukumar, SS Rajamouli's son, and other figures from Telugu cinema's establishment had all sent messages of support. At the G3 Theatre in Vijayawada, crowds had gathered hours before screenings began. At one promotional event, an overenthusiastic fan breached security and rushed toward Ram Charan; his bodyguard, MMA fighter Kevin Kunta, intervened swiftly, but later, in a calmer moment, the fan was allowed to meet the actor, touch his feet, and thank him.
Ram Charan's wife Upasana attended a special screening in Hyderabad with her father, and videos of her cheering alongside fans circulated widely on social media. His sister Sushmita posted a heartfelt message about watching him pour every ounce of energy and passion into the film. His cousin Varun Tej called it "beast mode." The family's public embrace of the project felt like a kind of collective holding of breath.
What hung in the balance was not just opening-day numbers but the trajectory of careers. For Buchi Babu Sana, Peddi represented a defining test—could he handle large-scale commercial cinema, or would the leap from Uppena prove too steep? For Ram Charan, a strong performance could establish him as more than a star riding family legacy; it could position him as a serious actor capable of carrying a film on his own shoulders. If Peddi crossed Rs 500 crore, it would become only his second film to enter that club, but crucially, it would be his first solo-led film to do so. RRR, his previous blockbuster, had been a multi-starrer with Jr. NTR.
As the sun rose on June 4th and the first shows began, the question was no longer whether Peddi would have a big opening. The question was whether it would sustain, whether the second half would deliver on the promise of the first, and whether a film about wrestling and cricket and the grit of rising from nothing could reshape the landscape of Telugu cinema in the way its makers and supporters believed it could.
Notable Quotes
Ram Charan delivers a stellar, career-defining performance that is sure to earn awards for him. A.R. Rahman's music is among his finest work in the last decade.— Early reviewer on Peddi's premiere screenings
The film's Day 1 business, including premiere shows, is expected to comfortably cross the Rs 100 crore mark worldwide. A super-strong opening is loading for this Ram Charan starrer.— Trade analyst Sumit Kadel
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
What made people line up for this film before they'd even seen it?
The advance bookings tell you something about how much goodwill Ram Charan carries, but also about the story itself. A sports drama about wrestling and cricket, grounded in Telugu culture, directed by someone who'd already proven he could tell intimate stories. People sensed something different was being attempted.
The reviews seem split. Some call it career-defining, others say the first half drags.
That's the honest picture. The film doesn't coast on star power. The first half is uneven—the heroine's track doesn't land, the villain feels overplayed. But something shifts around the interval. The wrestling sequences, the emotional core, Ram Charan's performance—that's where it catches fire.
Why does A.R. Rahman's music matter so much to the conversation?
Because it's not just accompaniment. In a film that's asking audiences to care about a character rising from homelessness, the music carries the emotional weight that the screenplay sometimes doesn't. Rahman's work here is being described as some of his best in a decade. That matters.
The government approval for ticket hikes and special shows—is that unusual?
It signals confidence, but also something deeper. Telugu cinema has been struggling. If the government is willing to support a film this way, it's because they believe it could be a turning point, not just for Ram Charan but for the industry itself.
What does success actually look like for this film?
Opening day at Rs 100 crore is almost certain now. But the real test is whether it holds in the second week. If it crosses Rs 500 crore, it becomes Ram Charan's first solo-led film to do that. For director Buchi Babu, it determines whether he's a one-hit wonder or a major commercial filmmaker.
And if it doesn't?
Then it's still a successful film, still a strong performance from Ram Charan. But the narrative around it changes. It becomes a good opening that didn't sustain, rather than a landmark moment.