Imagine going back to your childhood. That was a tempting prospect for Gulshan Devaiah, and a strong enough reason to front director Kaushal Oza’s Little Thomas.

“When I read the script, I had a smile on my face. I felt my character, Desmond, is a grown-up version of Thomas. I liked understanding Kaushal’s vision for the film. It’s about the innocence of childhood and it took me back to my own childhood days,” Devaiah told mid-day of the family dramedy that also stars Rasika Dugal and child actor Hridansh Parekh.

Anurag Kashyap has co-produced the upcoming movie that did the rounds of international film festivals over the past year. Devaiah isn’t surprised by the association. After all, the filmmaker and he end up finding each other project after project.

“Anurag Kashyap seems to be a ghost that doesn’t get off my back,” laughed the actor, before adding, “We acted together in Bad Cop [2024]. He gave me my first credit in That Girl In Yellow Boots [2011], produced Shaitan [2011], and many more. He is a constant in my life.” 

There’s another constant in Devaiah’s life — his hunger to have a career built on diverse stories. “I want to have an interesting career and do things not just for money. I see that people around me have ambition. When they taste success, they want to be perceived a certain way and spend enormous amounts of resources trying to build [that perception]. I don’t do that. Maybe that’s the right thing for me. I am not under the pressure of EMI and bills, and that gives me the freedom to choose. I had the patience to invest in myself, not be influenced by what the world thought of me, and let things happen.”

Gulshan Devaiah is excited to return with the second season of ‘Dahaad’, also starring Sonakshi Sinha and Vijay Varma. “I have never wanted to go back and [reprise] any character, except for Devi Lal Singh. I really wished I could be Devi Lal one more time, and that was granted,” he smiled.

If you ask Rasika Dugal, there is nothing little about Little Thomas. She always knew that the film had a big heart, and now it turns out, it comes with big rewards too. The Anurag Kashyap-produced movie, starring Gulshan Devaiah and Dugal, has earned three nominations — Best Actor for the leads, and Best Debut Film for director Kaushal Oza — at the New York Indian Film Festival (NYIFF) 2025. 

Dugal is delighted to be recognized for her performance in the slice-of-life film that is set in Goa of the 1990s and follows the efforts of seven-year-old Thomas to bring his parents together. The actor says, “Playing Jessie Miranda was a fun experience. I am grateful that the work is being appreciated, and looking forward to the audience’s response when the film will be screened at the festival. Film festival audiences are discerning, and it’s always wonderful to receive their view of the work.”

Though Devaiah pays little attention to awards, he admits it’s gratifying to receive a nomination for “the sweetest film” in his 15-year career. “I don’t think about awards or recognition when it comes to my work; I only focus on my personal journey as an actor. [But] I loved being part of this sweet film,” he says.

Oza says he is thrilled to return to NYIFF after his short film The Miniaturist of Junagadh’s (2022) premiere at the festival. "So, this time I am delighted that Little Thomas has been nominated at the same festival for the best debut film. What really puts the cherry on the cake is the nominations for both the actors!" he says.

For his debut feature film Little Thomas, director Kaushal Oza agrees he has struck a dream team in lead actors Gulshan Devaiah and Rasika Dugal, as well as producer Anurag Kashyap. As the slice-of-life offering gears up for its August 19 première at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne, the director says he couldn’t have asked for a better producer than Kashyap.

“Anurag is a zero-interference producer. I remember he and all the other producers had liked one piece of music, while I had liked another. Ultimately, I went with my gut. Only a producer who has also been a director can offer such freedom to the filmmaker,” says Oza.

He had an equally delightful experience with his lead actors as they joined forces to tell the story of a seven-year-old boy trying to bring his parents together. While Devaiah ensured a breezy working environment, the director praises Dugal for her hard work.

“Her character is a piano teacher, and Rasika learnt the piano for eight months so that she could play the classical pieces. She also prepared hard to get the Goan accent right. She had just come off months of Mirzapur shoot, so to be able to switch so convincingly between the two worlds took a lot of work.”