Why Ram Charan’s ‘Peddi’ facing legal battle over high ticket prices

4 min readNew DelhiJun 4, 2026 06:10 PM IST

Two petitions were filed before the Andhra Pradesh High Court challenging an increase in movie ticket prices for the film Peddi, on the state government's decision.

A day before ‘Peddi’ hit theatres, the Ram Charan film has attracted litigation in the Andhra Pradesh High Court with a couple of petitions challenging the alleged hike in ticket prices.

Justice A Hari Haranadha Sarma heard the petitioners’ claim that the film ‘Peddi’ did not comply with a Government Order dated March 7, 2022, regulating ticket prices and therefore was not eligible for the ticket-price hike, and referred the matter to the Chief Justice for directions on clubbing them with similar cases pending before the relevant court.

“It is brought to the notice of this Court by the learned Special Government Pleader that the connected matters in… are pending before the Division Bench of this Hon’ble High Court. In view of the same, the Registry is directed to place the present cases before the Hon’ble the Chief Justice, for getting necessary instructions as to taking these matters with the other connected matters,” the June 3 order noted.

Justice A Hari Haranadha Sarma heard a matter over pricey tickets of film Peddi on June 2.

Peddi, the movie

On Tuesday,  Ram Charan and Janhvi Kapoor’s film made a significant buzz and headlines after a security breach occurred at the film’s promotional event in Vijayawada.

According to a report by industry tracker Sacnilk, within the initial days of its booking, Ram Charan’s film collected Rs 8.55 crores without block bookings. With block bookings, the film earned Rs 13.54 crores on Wednesday afternoon. Worldwide, the film has collected Rs 35 crore gross.

Also starring Shivarajkumar and Jagapathi Babu in key roles, the sports action drama hit screens on Thursday, June 4, with the makers planning to organise paid premieres in the Telugu states a day prior.

Pricey tickets for ‘Peddi’

Two petitions were filed before the Andhra Pradesh High Court challenging a government memo dated May 26, 2026.

The aforementioned memo had permitted an increase in movie ticket prices for the film Peddi, which was scheduled for a release on the following day.

The petitioners had argued that the hike in the prices of movie tickets violated the government order dated March 7, 2022, which regulates special ticket-price increases for films.

Jada Sravan Kumar, counsel for one of the petitioners, had contended that the film in question did not satisfy Clause 8 of the government order that demands at least 20 per cent of the shooting to be conducted in Andhra Pradesh.

S Pranathi, representing the government, stated that similar issues were pending before the division bench.

‘List after summer vacations’

The key question before the Andhra Pradesh High Court was whether the government’s memo permitting the increase in the price of film Peddi has violated the government order of 2022.

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The court observed that the matters concerning the same issue were pending before the division bench of this court, and considered it appropriate to place these pleas before the Chief Justice for instructions regarding the hearing of them along with the connected matters.

In view of the matter, the court noted that the case could properly be considered only after both the Government and private respondents counter their responses in detail.

The court directed that the matter be listed, after the year’s summer break, subject to instructions given by the Chief Justice, and denied any interim relief at this stage.

Somya Panwar works with the Legal Desk at The Indian Express, where she covers the various High Courts across the country and the Supreme Court of India. Her writing is driven by a deep interest in how law influences society, particularly in areas of gender, feminism, and women’s rights.

She is especially drawn to stories that examine questions of equality, autonomy, and social justice through the lens of the courts. Her work aims to make complex legal developments accessible, contextual, and relevant to everyday readers, with a focus on explaining what court decisions mean beyond legal jargon and how they shape public life.

Alongside reporting, she manages the social media presence for Indian Express Legal, where she designs and curates posts using her understanding of digital trends, audience behaviour, and visual communication. Combining legal insight with strategic content design, she works on building engagement and expanding the desk’s digital reach.

Somya holds a B.A. LL.B and a Master’s degree in Journalism. Before moving fully into media, she gained experience in litigation and briefly worked in corporate, giving her reporting a strong foundation. ... Read More

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