There are some projects which require intensive preparation for both the makers and the actors. For Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota (2019), Gulshan Devaiah learnt how to ‘fake’ Karate for four months, finding the character from outside in. For Guns & Gulaabs (2023), the actor had to figure out the psyche of a psychopathic killer. However, with his next film Little Thomas, set to release on October 23, it’s more about keeping it simple and truthful, Gulshan says. The actor, who plays Desmond Miranda, the idealist underdog father of 7-year-old protagonist Thomas, adds, “Little Thomas just required me to go back to my childhood and remember similar things. Also, I identified early on that Desmond is a bigger version of Thomas – he has that innocent view of the world, with a little naivety. There is not much difference between them besides age. He knows Thomas, that is why he also thinks and worries about what Thomas is thinking. The mother is the only one who lives in reality. I just had to keep that truthfulness, and keep reminding myself never to leave that atmosphere of the script.”
While Little Thomas is a rare children’s film in this day and age, debutant filmmaker Kaushal Oza clarifies that he didn’t begin working on the film with that aim in mind. The idea, in fact, stems from his childhood. Kaushal tells us, “I was the only child of my parents and I wanted a little brother. That desire and sadness was always a part of me. After FTII, when I was developing this from a one-pager, I couldn’t stop writing once I began working on it. While this is somewhere autobiographical, I’ve also tried to create a fictional world. Thomas is very innocent; I wasn’t. (laughs). I’ve tried to create a world full of wonder, innocence and charm that’s gone missing.”
Kaushal, who has made several short films, including The Miniaturist of Junagadh and the National Award winning Afterglow, describes a feature film production as a ‘Test match'. He adds, “One must get used to shooting continuously, keeping up their stamina and have that focus for 40 days. Getting on the set is a fight. At the same time, it takes a few days to find the tone of the film. For all my short films, that happened — whatever I shot on day one, I had to reshoot because it invariably happened that either actors or I felt it wasn’t working.”
However, getting the tone right was never the problem with Rasika Dugal, who plays Thomas’ mother Jessie — and both Gulshan and Kaushal can’t stop praising the Mirzapur star. Kaushal notes, “I think good actors are super intelligent. We write a script for the screen, not literature — so there are no long descriptions, or things like ‘he is feeling sad.’ Any good actor must read and translate the emotion between the lines, and Rasika does it very well. She gets the tone very fast. She is a powerhouse of an actor who can do anything.”
It’s a rather risky proposition to mount a theatrical release for such a niche genre, especially in current times. However, Gulshan is rather vehement as he makes the argument that such problems always existed. He says, “These are just narratives, there is no truth to it. What we are talking about is not a new phenomenon. It’s always been a cut-throat business and been difficult to get people to come. When middle-class began growing, they enjoyed a certain kind of cinema – the Amol Palekar phase always ran parallel to the Angry Young Man era. When TV came, everyone thought it’s over. It’s definitely a competition, but one doesn’t get the theatrical experience anywhere. One should just tell the stories they want to, without trying to influence the market or be influenced by these narratives.”
Kaushal meanwhile talks about what should make Little Thomas, in particular, a great big-screen experience. “This film comes a little bit from the 90s’ school, where you are watching a comedy with elements of emotion, some good music and visuals. That whole community experience, so different from sitting alone in a room, is precious. It’s not just about a bigger screen.” He also shares his experience of watching the iconic comedy Hera Pheri (2000) back then. He recalls, “I remember the 6-feet tall, bald guy sitting in front of me because he was enjoying so much and vigorously clapping. So, I will never forget the audience reaction along with the film.”
In 2023, Gulshan delivered memorable performances in Dahaad, Duranga, Guns & Gulaabs and 8am Metro (in his trademark wit, Gulshan describes the last one as ‘the Andaz Apna Apna of sad movies’). And yet, since then, Little Thomas marks only his fourth Hindi film since 2023; Gulshan continues to be choosy about his projects. The actor explains, “This is pretty much who I am. I’ve always made these kinds of choices. It’s a simple rule of thumb which I’ve been following since the beginning, even when I had no work — I have to have genuine interest in the film, and it has to be good for my career. The rest of it — remuneration, my co-actors, whether I get along with a director — can be worked out. It is never a monetary thing, for nobody can tell which film will turn successful. I want diversity in my career and that doesn't come in two days. It’s only after 15-20 years that people start realising there is some range in the genres and roles that an actor has been choosing. I am just being authentic to myself.”
At its core, Little Thomas is about the naive questions of a little boy. Speaking about similarly innocent queries from younger days, Kaushal recalls he was puzzled by Amrish Puri dying in every film he watched, only to resurrect in the next. He adds, “I used to try and figure out in which film he actually died. Going back from there, I would try to trace his filmography. After Karan Arjun, I thought it was a case of rebirth, where he is born again and again like a villain and never improves. Then I asked my father — and that’s when I learnt that films are fiction, not reality.”
Gulshan has a different story, a more hazy yet vivid memory. “At the age of 4-5 years, I had watched an American film on VHS — Short Circuit (1986) — which had a robot character named Johnny 5. My father was an engineer, so I thought he could make anything. I told all my friends that my father will make a robot like that for me. I never asked my father about it, though. I was often lost in my own thoughts. So yes, I didn't have any questions, I had these fantasies, lost in my own thoughts and ideas. Which is what makes Little Thomas all the more relatable.”
