KURANGU PEDAL Review

Dispensing with the usual ingredients of a mass entertainer is always a huge risk, but actor Sivakarthikeyan was brave enough to back a film like Kurangu Pedal which is a heart-warming and relatable tale of a young boy and his friends whose biggest aim in their school holidays is to learn how to ride a bicycle.

This premise does not sound very exciting, but director Kamalakannan keeps his audience captivated through the richness and depth of his characterisation, organic humour and a keen understanding of human emotion. Kurangu Pedal has a message to offer its audience but sets out to illustrate it without being overt or preachy about it, choosing instead to convey the message in an entertaining and memorable way.

The result is a film that quickly draws the viewer into the world of its protagonist Mariyappan, leaving an indelible understanding of our young protagonist and the people who make up his world. The entire narrative is done from the perspective of a child.

Set in a village in the 1980s, Kurangu Pedal explores a complex world couched in innocence, tracing events through the eyes of the young protagonists who are desperate to use the school summer holidays to learn how to ride a bicycle – when the only available cycles were adult size models that made it very difficult to be ridden by children.

If you think that the story is just about boys learning to ride a bicycle, that would be a huge underestimation of the film, as it deals with a complex array of emotions and issues that remain universal.

Santhosh Velmurugan who plays the film’s protagonist, Mariyappan, is a magnificent find who plays his role to realistic perfection. Like the performances of the other child stars – VR Raghavan and M Gnanasekar – Santhosh Velmurugan plays his role with the charming finesse of a child without the normally adult attributes given to children. Kaali Venkat delivers another electrifying performance as Mariyappan’s father, Kandasamy, while Prasanna Balachander as the cycle shop owner and Jenson as the delightful alcoholic are both in memorable roles.

SuMee Bhaskaran’s cinematography is a major bonus in the film. Apart from capturing the picturesque countryside, the film is rich in artistic shots and a very varied palette.

Ghibran’s music is good, with the songs fitting in perfectly with the narrative and the background score adding to the film’s charm.

There are no major twists in the story and no larger-than-life characters but Kurangu Pedal is an absorbing, endearing and altogether delightful film that is a feel-good family entertainer. It’s release on OTT is also perfectly timed as it is an ideal Father’s Day treat that focuses on a Father-son relationship without ignoring the other key relationships in the story.

For people my age it is a beautiful nostalgic trip to how, as children, we spent our summer holidays without the internet, smartphones and social media, making do with what we had to entertain ourselves and have fun.

Kurangu Pedal scores 8 points out of 10.