I was expecting a high drama sports film with the fusion of the Ram Charan and Buchi Babu Sana. What I discovered is a movie that has a very raw and honest heart, great technical production value and actually a lovely leading performance but is undermined too many times by too much commercial packaging and too much hero elevation.
The premise of the story is as intriguing as can be. The Sports Minister has been left angry after India won just two medals in the Olympics, and is calling for the inspection of all sports events in the country. As authorities do probe sporting facilities and talent development programmes, one name keeps coming to the fore, Peddi. The man’s name is spoken by everyone, whether they are a runner, a cricketer or a weightlifter. As the minister ponderes, he wonders who this mysterious man is and why athletes from completely different disciplines hold him in such esteem. As he continues to search for Peddi, he discovers who he is, his village, and the extraordinary changes he has brought about in those around him.
I was impressed right away by the quality of the film. The cinematographer, R. Rathnavelu, does all his work in a grand style and grand manner. Each frame has a rich film quality, adding to the film-like experience. However, A.R. Rahman’s work is also significant. His background score adds a few scenes that could be mundane otherwise. Many times, the music is more moving than the screenplay. The songs are nice and soothing and at times fit in perfectly into the story, but not always, thereby detracting from the overall narration and effect.
I can only give high accolades to Ram Charan for the hard work that he has put into this position. The way he changes physically, particularly in the bits where he becomes a weightlifting icon, is amazing. This dedication is displayed on the screen. More important, I felt his emotions were better in some of his earlier games. The scene which is particularly effective is where his character is having a serious leg problem, about to enter the climax. He’s vulnerable at that moment and shows some growth as a player.
Unfortunately, not all things go smoothly. Janhvi Kapoor’s character sometimes seems to be out of the picture. She appears in the movie over and over again, at times every few minutes, but never doing anything particularly interesting, to the narrative. These sections do not always add to the emotional plot but rather can be awkward. When her role and some of her character decisions are eventually explained, it does not justify the earlier decisions in her writing.
The thing I have a problem with Peddi is the pacing. The film has a running time of nearly three hours, and really doesn’t have enough material to sustain that length. Especially the first half. There are a great amount of setpieces for the heroes, hero elevations and commercial set pieces, none of which have much to do with the main story. I truly felt like the story would have been much more concentrated and powerful if some of the time had been cut from the first half.
This is particularly irritating as the main topic of the movie is quite strong. Behind all the commercial mumbo-jumbo is a tale of tribal people, people without identity without recognition and one man’s attempt to bring them back into dignity. These suggestions are emotionally rich and socially relevant. However, rather than delve deeply into them, the script constantly brings us back to the more ‘showy’ moments with the hero. Consequently, the significant elements of the story never seem to take hold of the viewer’s heart as they should.
In addition, the writing contains some logical inconsistencies. The whole investigation is about the possibility of Peddi making a historic feat in the sporting world. However, in spite of all this, he is still not widely known. Meanwhile, everyone from all sports disciplines is familiar with him and admiring him. This is a contradiction that’s hard to overlook and diminishes the central mystery.
I also didn’t like the initial characterization of Ram Charan. As soon as he gets a glimpse at Janhvi’s character, he gets the urge to touch her all of a sudden. One sequence, in which he walks up to her whilst she sleeps, and eventually kisses her after trying to touch her in darkness, is especially off-putting. The worse part is that this same character later takes a moral stand when someone tries to embarrass her in front of others. It does not make for a consistence and leaves one with uncomfortable questions regarding the character’s moral system. This question has never been satisfactorily answered in the explanation which follows.
The transitions between the different sports and sporting environments are frequent, but not necessarily natural. Often there is a lack of preparation. The screenplay rushes through these elements, without thinking about them carefully, while emphasizing a hero worship style. I wasn’t even convinced by the big international competition sequence. The protagonist brings up an important topic on an international forum when it could have been raised at his local or national level. The decision is not a brave one, but rather a poorly thought out, weak character writing.
A screen play perspective: It’s the interval block only that really hits. Other than that, few scenes have emotional reverberations. Commercial heroism gets in the way of better stories too often. Just as the movie strives to get its act together in any moment when it’s about to be moving in a significant direction, it always seems to fall back into sensation.
Ultimately, Peddi is still a most average experience. It has some great acting, terrific graphics, catchy music, and a meaningful social message. But a ploddy execution, poor character development, flaws in the logic and an unrelenting glorification of the hero stand in the way of its potential. I saw something in the movie that Peddi wanted to be and that could have been a memorable one. Sadly, the one that made it to the movie theaters compromises itself to being watchable.
Rating: 2.5/5
