Actor Ram Charan underwent a transformation to play a ‘crossover athlete’ Peddi in Buchi Babu Sana’s sports drama. He tackles not one or two, but three sports in the film, each requiring him to look the part. At the trailer launch of Peddi, Ram not only revealed the film’s story but also thanked Aamir Khan and Salman Khan for paving the way. (Also Read: Janhvi Kapoor calls Peddi director ‘rowdiest’, says he should be critiqued for her acting: ‘He seems innocent but…’)
Ram Charan thanks Salman Khan, Aamir Khan
At the event in Mumbai, Ram was asked about the transformation he underwent for the role. However, he first took a moment to thank the Bollywood stars, saying, “First of all, thanks to Salman sir and Aamir sir for giving us a paving the path for such films with Sultan and Dangal. It gave us so much confidence.” He added, “Thank you, thanks to both of you for starting this journey, and we believed that this kind of film had worked in the past. And obviously, we followed the same route.”
Peddi is a man’s search for identity through sport
Ram stated that shooting for Peddi was not just challenging but also spiritual. He added, “Transformation, it has to be done, it was part of the story. I remember at my house, he was going through the script while sitting on a carpet, reading one by one. For 2 hour 40 minutes, I had nothing to say. I knew this was going to be physically very tiring, but it’s worth it for this man and the subject he has written.”
The actor then explained that the film is about a man’s search for identity through sport. “This is about a man’s search for his identity. So, everybody, we all need some kind of identity to live and get through the day. And this is about Peddi, who’s finding his identity,” explained Ram, adding, “He goes through an identity crisis before finding it for a larger cause. What leads him to become a crossover athlete and do what he does… It is organic; at the same time, it’s highly commercial.”
Peddi is written and directed by Buchi Babu Sana, produced by Venkata Satish Kilaru under Vriddhi Cinemas, co-produced by Ishan Saksena under IVY Entertainment, and presented by Mythri Movie Makers and Sukumar Writings. It stars Ram, Janhvi Kapoor, Shiva Rajkumar, Divyendu and Jagapathi Babu, among others. The film will see Ram play cricket, wrestling and running. It will be released in theatres on June 4.