Built for the akhara: Inside Ram Charan’s pehelwan overhaul

Four months after the Chikiri Chikiri song previously established Ram Charan as a rural cricketer, the latest glimpse of Peddi reveals a different side of the character. Training in the rain with a heavy wooden gada, the actor has unvieled the bulked-up frame of a pehelwan.Speaking exclusively to Hyderabad Times, director Buchi Babu Sana detailed the training process behind the actor’s new look. “He put in immense effort, training every day for almost eight months to achieve the physique we envisioned for a pehelwan. That level of discipline extended beyond training — while observing Ayyappa deeksha, Ram Charan followed a strict vegetarian diet and steered clear of non-vegetarian food,” he shares. Central to this physical overhaul is the gada, a traditional heavy wooden club used by wrestlers. “Every pehelwan uses a mugdar for training. In Peddi, his character shares a strong connection with the gada, which he uses as part of his workouts,” Sana explains. “He trained extensively with it, and the fight sequences incorporate that, along with elements like mud and traditional wrestling setups.” While the pivot from the cricket field to the akhara has left everyone guessing about the character’s primary discipline, the director remains elusive. “He plays a sportsman. What sport he excels in will be revealed in theatres, but wrestling forms a major part of the film,” he says, signing off.