KINARU - a movie about the never-ending passion of four children who are determined to make their dreams a reality has drawn raving reviews after its recent opening in theatres across India.
Produced by Petra Studios and Madras Stories (a unit of Petra Films), the film begins with four kids, Pethappa, Mani, Saibol, and Salidappa, playing in a well.
They are lost in the joy of the moment, yet the background score and the slow, deliberate pacing hint at something ominous and right on cue, the kids are beaten for using the well.
At first, it’s quite jarring that the scene is treated lightly, which is followed by an energetic song. It makes us wonder whether the director is downplaying the seriousness of the situation.
But as similar sequences repeat, we begin to understand that this lightness reflects how such incidents have become an everyday reality for the children. This also becomes the driving factor for the kids to dig up a well of their own.
The one hour 48 minutes Tamil movie is directed by Harikumaran and the cast include Kanishkumar, Vivek Prasanna, Manojkannan, Ashwin, and Sri Hariharan.
The New Indian Express in its review said, "In this intertwining journey of desires, there is no drought of emotions. But the biggest of them all is empathy.
"In recent times, we have seen films stuff the audience with half-hearted tales of empathy, and amidst such films, Kinaru stands tall in highlighting the aspect without compromising on the heartfelt story at the centre of it all."
Kinaru is a tale of desires that transcends generations and wears its emotions on its sleeves. - November 17, 2025
