Anurag Kashyap Turns Producer For Little Thomas? What We Know

Anurag Kashyap is gearing up for his next production, Little Thomas. The film features Gulshan Devaiah, Rasika Duggal and child artist Hridansh Parekh. This project marks Kashyap’s return to the genre since his 2007 animated film Return of Hanuman. Reportedly, the comedy-drama, directed by Kaushal Oza in his feature debut, will have its international premiere at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM).

Set in the 1990s Goa, the movie centres on a seven-year-old boy who wishes for a baby brother and tries to reconcile his feuding parents. Known for his gritty films like Gangs of Wasseypur and Ugly, Kashyap was intrigued by Oza’s concept of creating an authentic children’s movie from a child’s perspective, according to a report by Variety.

“It’s a difficult genre actually, to make an authentic children’s film,” Kashyap was quoted by the news outlet.

“So one has to ensure that it’s a good script before making it.”

Little Thomas is a “sweet, cute film,” Devaiah told Cinema Express. He went on to say that Little Thomas’s narrative and the “beautiful innocence” of its setting are what make it special. Devaiah previously collaborated with Kashyap on That Girl in Yellow Boots and Shaitan.

Additionally, Duggal commended the writing for sticking to the story without adding needless frills and for having an “interesting sense of humour.” She was quoted by the Cinema Express as saying, “Technology has given us so much to play within filmmaking that sometimes, I feel the soul of a film gets drowned in the razzmatazz.”

For the role of Thomas and his friends, more than 700 kids auditioned, Oza informed the news outlet.

Flip Films, Kashyap’s Good Bad Films, Civic Studios and Luminoso Pictures are reportedly producing the movie. Little Thomas was labelled as a “refreshingly delightful story,” according to Civic Studios producer Anushka Shah.

Former co-producer of Oza’s short The Miniaturist of Junagadh, Flip Films’ Ranjan Singh, said he read the screenplay in 2018 and thought it was a “authentic children’s film,” which is why he chose to produce Little Thomas.

The movie is anticipated to hit Indian theatres after its festival run. The festival starts on August 15 with the anthology film My Melbourne, directed by Rima Das, Imtiaz Ali, Onir and Kabir Khan.

Girls Will Be Girls by Shuchi Talati will mark the end of IFFM on August 25.