When it comes to cinematic transformations, Ram Charan is raising the bar yet again. ForPeddi, directed by Buchi Babu Sana, the 41-year-old actor ditched the polished “Greek god” aesthetic for something far more raw and rooted - a rugged desipehalwanphysique.

And this wasn’t a quick makeover. It was a 16-month grind built on discipline, traditional training, and meticulous planning – for the movie, based on wrestling.

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According to celebrity trainer Rakkesh R Uddiyar – who trained Ram, the goal was clear from day one: no chiselled, glossy look - just real, functional strength. The idea was to reflect the physicality of an Indian wrestler, where endurance, grip strength, and mobility matter more than visible abs.

This approach taps into a growing fitness trend that prioritizes functional training over aesthetic bodybuilding. Instead of isolating muscles, workouts focused on full-body coordination, agility, and real-world strength.

Ram's training split combined modern sports science with traditional Indian fitness methods. His weekly routine included:

Transforming the body wasn’t just about workouts; it required a highly controlled diet. Despite already being partly vegetarian, transitioning Ram to a fully vegetarian diet during intense training posed challenges.

The solution? Carb cycling is a popular fitness strategy where carbohydrate intake is adjusted daily using both low-carb days to promote fat loss and high-carb days to fuel intense workouts and recovery. Ram’s daily intake ranged between 1,800 and 2,500 calories, carefully calibrated to match his training phases. For earlier portions of the film, where he portrays a village youth, he followed a calorie-deficient diet to achieve a lean, grounded look instead of bulk.

This transformation wasn’t just physical - it was logistical. Workouts began before sunrise, followed by tightly scheduled meals and recovery sessions. A dedicated team - including doctors, dieticians, and chefs, coordinated every detail through constant communication to ensure consistency.

As Uddiyar put it, “It’s not a one-day programme.” The process demanded over a year of relentless discipline, proving that real transformation is a marathon, not a sprint.

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