One of our earliest trust issues probably began the day we started learning how to ride a cycle.
The moment of disbelief when you look back and see that your father has let go of your bicycle, even after swearing he would not, is the first blow; and proceeding to fall and bruise your toe, is the second.
The 53rd International Film Festival of India, Goa, had an interesting panel of filmmakers and actors of films in 3 different languages in the Indian Panorama section.
The panellist list included: Akhilendra Chhatrapati Mishra, Pratik Sharma, Kaali Venkat, Kamalakannan S, Mangesh Desai and Prasad Oak. They each spoke about their respective films and enlightened the audience.
Set in the 1980s, Kurangu Pedal is a film that is based on a short story. The story is of a father who does not know how to ride a bicycle but has a son who is adamant about learning how to ride one, no matter what! The rest of the film is about their adventure together.
The film is one of three Tamil movies that have been selected for the Indian Panorama section of the 53rd International Film Festival of India
Director Kamalakannan S recalls how he read this story 15 years ago and somehow the story lingered on in his mind. He shared how even something as simple as cycling was so interesting and intriguing during the days of our childhood.
The emotional connection is a key aspect of the film, and the cast and crew did a flawless job of exhibiting this emotion to the audience.
“I remember how every time I narrated the story to people, they always told me how it felt so nostalgic and took them back to the days of their childhood. Even the cast and crew of the film felt the same,” said Kamalakannan. “Learning how to ride a bicycle gave us a sense of confidence,” he added.
Times have certainly changed. In the past, the only way to speak to your father was to communicate through your mother. This film focuses on the relationship between the boy and his father, and how, although unexpressed, his love exists.
“It was a great experience. There was a lot to learn from the child artists,” said actor Kaali Venkat. As for the child actors, Kamalakannan explained how the initial training process included taking their mobile phones and electronic devices away to give them a sense of life in the past.
The director and cast shared various stories from their childhood that made the child actors wonder how they used to survive without any electronic devices. But, within a span of 30 days, this life of bliss and no buzzing of notifications was their new normal.
“When we are learning to ride a bicycle, we often fall and bruise ourselves. But as the years go by, the scars only serve as a memory of something that we have now mastered. This film and its characters are like that,” smiled Venkat.
A ride into the past and the wind in our hair, Kurangu Pedal is nostalgia personified.
