EXCLUSIVE: Gulshan Devaiah reveals why he signed Little Thomas: “It reminds you of your childhood”; expresses SURPRISE over CBFC awarding it U/A 7+ instead of ‘U’: “I really don’t know on what basis they took that decision”
The ever entertaining and immensely talented Gulshan Devaiah will next be seen in the light-hearted and adorable film Little Thomas. In an exclusive interview with Bollywood Hungama, Gulshan spoke about what made him sign the film, his fascination with playing unconventional characters, the challenges faced by smaller films in cinemas and a lot more.
The first comment on the trailer of Little Thomas on YouTube reads, “Gulshan Devaiah portraying a good man!!!!! I must be hallucinating…Or maybe he will turn out to be a baby thief in the end”! Clearly, this person hasn’t seen Dahaad or 8 AM Metro (2023). Nevertheless, this perception seems to have stuck when it comes to your on-screen performances…
(Laughs) I guess it’s because a lot of my popular roles have been in the negative space. Some people tend to enjoy the bad guys more. It’s also fun to play such roles. In fact, people have told me, ‘Aap wohi type ke roles karo. Maza aata hai humko. Dahaad jaisa role mat karo’! At the same time, I’ve received a lot of appreciation for Dahaad, 8 AM Metro, Perfect Family, Badhaai Do (2022), Afsos, etc. But I guess the villainous roles are more memorable for some people, and that’s fine.
What made you sign Little Thomas?
Its innocence. Everybody has gone through childhood, and hence, it’s not difficult to relate to this film. It gives you a feel-good feeling as it reminds you of your bygone days. That innocence and sincerity are there in the script. The storytelling also has a childlike quality.
Also, my character, Desmond, is like Thomas; bas woh ab bada ho gaya hai! When Desmond was seven, he must have been pretty much like Thomas. That’s why you see Desmond worrying about his son in the film (laughs). However, Desmond is also innocent and naive, and I was excited to see how I’d interpret the character.
Thirdly, I had seen Kaushal Oza’s The Miniaturist Of Junagadh and realized that he is a really good director. It’s a well-made film. Then, I met Kaushal. Once you meet the writer-director, you get a better idea of how they envision the film. I liked his vision, and all these factors motivated me to sign Little Thomas.
It’s refreshing to see a children’s film like Little Thomas. We rarely get such films in India, unlike Hollywood, where they’re made regularly…
These films may be described as children’s films, but they’re watched by everybody. When you go to watch Disney animated movies, you’ll find a lot of adults in the audience as well. After all, bacche apne aap film dekhne thodi na jaayenge? They’ll be accompanied by their elder siblings or parents. Also, there’s a cinema-going culture in India. Hence, though this film is targeted towards children, it’ll appeal to everyone. As I said, bachpan toh har kisi ka beeta hai.
Surprisingly, Little Thomas has received a U/A 7+ certificate from the CBFC (Central Board of Film Certification) instead of a ‘U’ rating…
I really don’t know on what basis they took that decision. There are guidelines, but I don’t know how the committee interpreted them. I don’t have any details about it. Anyway, we’ve been having this fight for the longest time. This has been happening since before I was born and will continue long after I’m gone (laughs).
Do you fear that cinemas might not give Little Thomas sufficient shows? After all, multiplexes often reduce shows as early as the second day if a film doesn’t perform well. This is despite films like Main Vaapas Aaunga and Hanuman Ansh picking up significantly after their opening weekends. Your own film, 8 AM Metro, received unanimously positive word of mouth and might have benefited had exhibitors given it more time…
See, it’s a business decision at the end of the day. We may argue about the exhibitors’ responsibility towards cinema, but they also need to pay electricity bills, staff salaries, etc. So, what you’re saying is fair, but exhibitors would feel, ‘If audiences aren’t coming to see this film, why should I continue playing it for an entire week? I’d rather replace it with something else that’s attracting audiences’.
And it’s not just a present-day challenge. Ever since cinema came into existence, it’s been difficult to attract audiences for certain films. Even back then, movies failed. Today, we know when a particular Akshay Kumar film bombs at the box office. However, even in the past, when actors were doing eight to ten films a year, they had films that didn’t work. The difference is that we don’t know their first-day or weekend collections.
Hence, I don’t want to complain too much because that’s always been the case with cinema. It’s never been easy to draw audiences. But if a film gets good word of mouth and the publicity is done right, it’ll create buzz. The films you mentioned are examples of films that benefited from positive word of mouth.
The post EXCLUSIVE: Gulshan Devaiah reveals why he signed Little Thomas: “It reminds you of your childhood”; expresses SURPRISE over CBFC awarding it U/A 7+ instead of ‘U’: “I really don’t know on what basis they took that decision” appeared first on Bollywood Hungama.