Bhubaneswar, June 8: Amidst the box-office success of Ram Charan’s much-awaited sports drama, Peddi, the online discourse has been increasingly dominated by the film’s depiction of the female lead, Achiyyamma, played by Janhvi Kapoor, rather than the film’s commercial success. The film is still minting huge money but viewers and critics have raised eyebrows on the way the romantic track has been shown on screen.

Director has come out in public to respond to the controversy, following the increasing criticism. The team did not want the romantic track between Ram Charan’s character Peddi and Achiyyamma to be looked at in a bad light, he said. “I wasn’t expecting the audience to see the scenes in such a negative way,” he said, confessing that the backlash was a surprise.

The director says that the original idea was a light and playful romance between the main characters. But he admitted the execution might not have come across on screen as it was intended. Sana also said that the team is ready to learn from the feedback and improve going forward and will be more careful in handling such portrayals in future projects.

Another area of criticism revolves around the way Achiyyamma's role is introduced in the film. The way she enters the scene has been criticized as the camera is excessively used to focus on her physique.

The second major point of contention regarding character choice has revolved around Peddi's actions towards Achiyyamma and the scenes in which he participates in. There have been instances when Peddi openly declares his intentions without giving any regard to consent. An example of such behavior is Peddi forcefully kissing Achiyyamma when there was no electricity in the house.

The aftermath of this event, as per the plotline, is that Achiyyamma's distress is downplayed and silenced by the other members of her family who do not want them to suffer politically because of the family name.

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Regardless of the controversies that have surrounded it, Peddi continues to tell a bigger story, which revolves around the life of its lead character. In the movie, the athlete Peddi, enacted by Ram Charan, seeks to use his skills and talents to elevate his village through sports, giving honor to his people.

In a setting that takes place in Vizianagaram, Andhra Pradesh, the sports movie focuses on identity, ambition, and pride among other elements.

Other actors in this movie include Shiva Rajkumar and Jagapathi Babu. The film is being directed by Venkata Satish Kilaru for Vriddhi Cinemas. Co-producing it are Ishan Saksena of IVY Entertainment, while Mythri Movie Makers and Sukumar Writings present it.