An intense wish, and the struggles of the young protagonist to make it true, has been a familiar trope of children’s films. In recent years, Tamil film Kakka Muttai was one of the most celebrated movies of that genre, with an interesting twist in the tale, at the moment they fulfilled their wish.
It also had a larger politics to convey, of those excluded in the growth story. Gold Coins , directed by Pramod G. Gopal, is also about an intense wish. Two brothers, the sons of a parotta-maker, have been for long wishing for a geared bicycle. But, their father who is struggling to run the family, has no means to fulfil their wishes. The brothers, not the ones to give up easily, devise other ways to earn enough money to buy the bicycle. For a children’s film, Gold Coins has for the most parts a young heart and a simple narrative that fits that genre.
The script stays put with the children, without deviating much to the viewpoints of the grown-up characters. Where it falters a bit is in the pacing, dragged down post-interval with the introduction of some new characters, especially a bunch of goons, who pop up constantly. Another character who did not add value to the film was the one played by Sunny Wayne. It seemed the only reason for including him in the film was to have a familiar face in the posters, to attract the public. Even in those sequences where the script did not offer much of excitement, the performance of the younger of the two brothers holds it together.
Gold Coins does not serve any surprises or emotional highs, but it does not disappoint much either.
S.R. Praveen
