On the eve of his most ambitious film yet, India’s global superstar reveals why no standing ovation in LA or Tokyo means more to him than the love of the crowd back home.
Peddi releases June 4 | 3 Sports: Cricket · Wrestling · Sprint | Oscar: Naatu Naatu 2023
He has danced on the Oscar stage. He has made fans in Tokyo, Los Angeles, and everywhere in between. His face is recognised in markets that barely knew Telugu cinema existed five years ago. And yet, when you ask Ram Charan what recognition matters most, his answer is refreshingly, almost stubbornly, grounded.
“Charity begins at home,” he says. “You have to be appreciated at home first.”
It is the kind of thing that sounds like a rehearsed line — until you realise this is a man who genuinely means it. On the eve of the release of Peddi, his most ambitious project since RRR, Ram Charan sat down with the media and offered a rare, unguarded window into how he thinks about fame, belonging, and what it means to be a Telugu star in a world that is suddenly paying very close attention.
The homeboy who conquered the world
The journey that brought Ram Charan to this moment is extraordinary by any measure. From his debut in Chirutha in 2007 to his breakthrough with Magadheera, and then the slow, steady accumulation of mass stardom through films like Rangasthalam — his career was already formidable before SS Rajamouli changed everything.
RRR and the Oscar-winning “Naatu Naatu” did not just take Ram Charan global. They rewrote the rules of what an Indian star could achieve on the world stage. Suddenly, the boy from Hyderabad was a phenomenon — and the whole world wanted a piece of him.
“It’s beautiful to have somebody from Japan appreciate your work, somebody from LA… It’s beautiful to reach out to a variety of audiences and know what they think about our Indian film.” — Ram Charan, speaking ahead of Peddi’s release
But even as the international adulation grew, something in Charan stayed rooted. He is, as he puts it himself, a “homeboy from Andhra Pradesh.” And no amount of Hollywood glamour seems to have loosened that anchor.
Peddi: the film that could define what comes next
Into this moment of peak global interest, Ram Charan brings Peddi — and the ambition here is staggering. Directed by Buchi Babu Sana, the film casts him as a “crossover athlete,” a rare talent who excels simultaneously in three completely different sports: cricket, wrestling, and sprinting. It is the kind of premise that demands an actor who can be both physically convincing and emotionally compelling — and after watching Charan transform himself for RRR, few would bet against him.
The cast assembled around him is equally impressive, bringing together Boman Irani, Shiva Rajkumar, Janhvi Kapoor, Jagapathi Babu and Divyenndu in a film that clearly has commercial firepower to match its sporting spectacle.
A journey two decades in the making
2007 — Debut with Chirutha 2009 — Magadheera, first blockbuster 2018 — Rangasthalam, mass stardom arrives 2022 — RRR, goes global with SS Rajamouli 2023 — Naatu Naatu wins the Oscar 2026 — Peddi, the next chapter begins
Why this moment matters
Ram Charan is 41. He has twins at home — he and wife Upasana welcomed them in January, joining their firstborn Klin Kaara. He is at a stage of life and career where many stars begin to play it safe, picking projects for comfort rather than challenge. Peddi is not that kind of choice.
It is a film that asks him to be vulnerable, physical, and heroic all at once — across three different sporting worlds. And it arrives at a moment when Indian cinema’s credibility on the global stage has never been higher. The pressure is real. So is the opportunity.
But if you listen to how Ram Charan talks about all of this — the global fame, the Oscar, the international fans — you sense a man who has found a way to hold all of it lightly. He is grateful for the appreciation that comes from across the world. Genuinely so. But his compass still points home.
When Peddi releases on June 4, the audience in Andhra Pradesh will be the first ones he is thinking about. The rest of the world can follow. That is not modesty — that is identity. And for Ram Charan, it is everything.
