RAMNATH N. PAI RAIKAR
Until the time machine becomes a reality, a person can always ride a bicycle to relive his or her childhood. ‘Bicycle Days’, a movie screened at the ‘Viewing Room’ set up at the Film Bazaar for pitching films to prospective buyers takes one on a trip down memory lane for anybody and everybody, whose childhood had a lot of bicycle rides.
Devyani Anant, a B-Tech in electronics and instrumentation is the writer, producer and director of this 80-odd minute film. Having a lot of experience in writing children’s literature during her college days, she decided to move into making a film for children, as the audio-visual medium always attracted her.
“I decided to make a film related to the childhood of a group of students as everybody relates to the memories of their own childhood,” Devyani stated, adding that she herself had an elder sibling. In fact, the bond she shared with her sister is seen in the film.
‘Bicycle Days’ narrates the story of a 10-year-old bright village boy, Aashish, who fails to receive a bicycle through a government cycle distribution programme. He misses the opportunity as he stays near the school, unlike his beneficiary friends who reside far from the school. In addition, he has to use the second-hand books of his sister as also the bicycle presented to her by their grandfather. These incidents destroy his morale and he loses interest in studies as well as in the game of cricket, of which he is the village champion. How Shekhar, a young school teacher struggling with his own problems becomes a friend, philosopher, and guide to Aashish forms the rest of the story.
Devyani expressed confidence about the theatrical release of the film in January/ February 2023, as also releasing it on an OTT platform. She also informed about two future projects, an animation film – ‘Surabhi’ – whose illustrative works have already begun, and a children’s film called ‘Sudarshan’.
When asked about the actors, including children working in ‘Bicycle Days’, Devyani said that she held an acting workshop for them. “First-time actors provided freshness and a natural touch to their characters,” she added.