In a strategic move that redraws Telugu cinema’s summer calendar, Ram Charan on Wednesday announced that his much-awaited sports action drama Peddi will now release worldwide on April 30, 2026, pushing back the originally scheduled date of March 27.
“#PEDDI will see you on APRIL 30, 2026,” Mega Power Star tweeted, ending weeks of speculation over whether the film would retain its original spot or make way for his uncle Pawan Kalyan’s Ustaad Bhagat Singh. The April 30 date also offers some respite from other major releases.
#PEDDI See you on APRIL 30, 2026 💪🏻🔥@NimmaShivanna #JanhviKapoor @BuchiBabuSana @arrahman @vriddhicinemas @VenkataSKilaru @MythriOfficial @SukumarWriters @PeddiMovieOffl pic.twitter.com/TTfrxi773W
– Ram Charan (@AlwaysRamCharan) February 4, 2026
The film, which has been in production since November 2024, features Ram Charan as an athlete in what is described as a rustic, emotionally charged sports drama set in a rural setting. The actor underwent a significant physical transformation for the role, sporting long hair, a beard, and a nose ring, a marked departure from his usual urban image.
Director Buchi Babu Sana, the National Award-winning filmmaker behind the 2021 blockbuster Uppena, casually dropped the release date on social media without warning, a move that took fans by surprise but generated immediate excitement.
Janhvi Kapoor plays the female lead in what marks her Telugu debut, while the film boasts a powerhouse cast including Kannada superstar Shiva Rajkumar, Telugu veteran Jagapathi Babu, Bollywood’s Divyenndu Sharma and, most recently, Boman Irani. Irani’s addition to the cast was confirmed last month through a behind-the-scenes photo shared by cinematographer R. Rathnavelu.
The first single from the film, ‘Chikiri Chikiri’, composed by Oscar winner AR Rahman, was released in November 2025 and instantly became a chart-topper in all five languages - Telugu, Tamil, Hindi, Malayalam and Kannada. The song reportedly garnered one million views within 24 hours of its release, setting an all-time record for Indian cinema and generating enormous anticipation for the full album.
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For Ram Charan, Peddi represents a crucial step in his career. Following his global recognition for RRR (2022) and more recent releases, the actor is banking on Sana’s storytelling prowess to deliver a performance-oriented blockbuster that appeals beyond mass entertainment. The film’s title, which translates as “great” or “older” in Telugu, often denoting respect and maturity, hints at a character seriously and community position.
When Ram Charan tweeted the announcement along with co-stars Shiva Rajkumar and Janhvi Kapoor, composer Rahman, director Sana, cinematographer Rathnavelu and production companies, the message was clear: Peddi arrives as a collective artistic endeavor rather than a star vehicle on its own.