Anurag Kashyap returns to the children’s film genre with ‘Little Thomas’

The Gulshan Devaiah-Rasika Duggal starrer is set for its world premiere at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne

Anurag Kashyap with the cast of ‘Little Thomas’. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap, known for his globally acclaimed titles such as Gangs of Wasseypur, Ugly and Kennedy, is ready with his next production venture Little Thomas. The film is headlined by Gulshan Devaiah and Rasika Duggal, joined by child artiste Hridansh Parekh in the comedy drama.

“Yes, it’s been a while. Maybe I was waiting for a good children’s film script to come my way,” Kashyap explained on why he took 17 years to return to this space after his animated directorial Return of Hanuman (2007). “It’s a difficult genre actually, to make an authentic children’s film, so one has to ensure that it’s a good script before making it,” the filmmaker added.

Little Thomas is set to have its world premiere at the upcoming Indian Film Festival of Melbourne. Besides Kashyap, the film is backed by Ranjan Singh, Rajnikant Oza, Charu Oza, Anushka Shah and Kabir Ahuja. In Little Thomas, Kashyap was impressed by the vision of the National Award-winning director Kaushal Oza, who makes his feature directorial debut with the film that follows the tragi-comic efforts of a seven-year-old boy to bring his parents together and have a little brother.

Kashyap said, “I had seen Kaushal’s short The Miniaturist of Junagadh and liked it. Then I read the Little Thomas script and understood his vision for it. He wanted to make a genuine children’s film while creating a world from a kid’s perspective. The honesty of his approach has helped make the film.”

Set in the Goa of the 90s, the film follows Thomas, the only child of his parents, who desperately wants a little brother. “One day, he is told that to get a baby brother his parents will have to kiss. Since his quarrelling parents won’t kiss any longer, little Thomas takes it upon himself to make them do the yucky act!” the film’s synopsis reads.

Director Kaushal Oza, alumnus of the Film and Television Institute of India, said the team auditioned over 700 kids to find Thomas and the gang.

The filmmaker said, “Everyone has been a seven year old once in their lives. When we grow up we miss the innocence of the times we were kids. I wanted to capture the innocence and imagination that we had then and yearn for now.”

Little Thomas is produced by Luminoso Pictures, Civic Studios, Flip Films and Good Bad Films .Also starring Hridyansh Gokani, Ninad Pandith and Mahabanoo Mody- Kotwal, Little Thomas will have its festival run before its theatrical release in the country.