Anurag Kashyap backed children's film 'Little Thomas' to premiere at IFFM

Mumbai: Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap is set to return to the children's film genre with his upcoming project "Little Thomas", which he has produced.

The film, starring Gulshan Devaiah, Rasika Duggal and Hridansh Parekh, will have its world premiere at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne.

The comedy-drama will be directed by national award winner filmmaker Kaushal Oza.

Kashyap, 51, will produce the film under his banner Good Bad Films. He previously directed "Return of Hanuman" in the same genre in 2007.

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.

Kashyap, mostly known for his gritty dramas such as "Black Friday", "Gangs of Wasseypur", "Ugly" and "Mukkabaaz", said it is not easy to make an authentic children's film which is why it took him so much time to return to the genre.

"It’s been a while. Maybe I was waiting for a good children’s film script to come my way. 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," Kashyap said.

Devaiah, 46, who has collaborated with Kashyap on many projects and most recently starred opposite him in "Bad Cop", said "Little Thomas" has a "beautiful story".

"It's a sweet, cute film and I am thrilled it's going to be showing at IFFM. The most special thing about 'Little Thomas' is its story and the beautiful innocence in its world. Rasika is a wonderful actor, who I’ve admired for a while now. She’s very professional and dedicated to the craft. I was lucky I got to work with her." Duggal, 39, who most recently featured in "Mirzapur" season three, said she was drawn to the script because of its simple story. "Technology has given us so much to play within filmmaking that sometimes, I feel the soul of a film gets drowned in the razzmatazz," she added.

Oza said he wanted to capture the innocence and imagination of a seven-year-old through the movie. "Little Thomas" is also backed by Ranjan Singh, Rajnikant Oza, Charu Oza, Anushka Shah and Kabir Ahuja alongside Kashyap under the banners Luminoso Pictures, Civic Studios, Flip Films and Good Bad Films.

IFFM will commence on August 15 and conclude on August 25. It will take place in Melbourne, Australia.