Peddi trailer backfired, admits director Buchi Babu Sana: 'Can’t afford such things'

Ram Charan-starrer Peddi opened to mixed reactions. At first, it earned appreciation for Ram Charan's performance and action sequences, but later faced even more backlash over the hypersexualized representation of Janhvi Kapoor's character. While this was the review the movie got after release, the trailer had already drawn mixed reactions that shaped audience expectations beforehand.

Director Buchi Babu Sana has now openly spoken about the film's trailer, admitting it was poorly cut.

Speaking in a post-release interview for Mythri Movie Makers, he said, “There was so much negativity. Even the people who wanted it guaranteed it wouldn’t happen. I was disappointed. I thought it wouldn’t meet my expectations at the start,”

Talking about the trailer cut, the director said, “In the trailer, too many things were packed into one scene, it was just too much. We just can’t afford such things with big movies.”

Buchi Babu said digital content creators helped drive Peddi's success by sharing genuine reactions online. Those reactions, he said, helped in the movie's success.

“Lots of people are giving reviews. Some have followers in the hundreds of thousands, like 500k, 600k, even a million. When they give a review, they put the phone down and instead of just talking about it on the side, they post reels or video clips. They’re giving personal reviews, and that word-of-mouth is really working,” he said.

Peddi and its makers found themselves in hot water after the film courted controversy over the hypersexualisation of Kapoor's character, Achiyyamma.

Apologising for the character's arc, he issued an apology and wrote,''’As a filmmaker, I believe cinema should entertain, inspire, and connect with audiences. It should never make anyone feel uncomfortable or disrespected. We have heard the feedback regarding certain scenes in Peddi and have taken it seriously.”