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 ArjunI 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.”