“Have You Ever Seen 9 Films Releasing on a Friday?” — Little Thomas Director Urges Multiplexes to Give Word-of-Mouth a Chance

Director Kaushal Oza’s Little Thomas walked into the October 23 release date first — and now finds itself sharing the day with eight other films. In an exclusive conversation with Bollywood Hungama, the filmmaker addressed the crowded Friday and made a case for exhibitors to show patience with word-of-mouth films.

As many as seven Hindi films and two international films are releasing on October 23. “When we announced our release date, way back on September 11, we were the only film scheduled for October 23. We knew some other films would come along, but nobody really expected so many! Have you ever seen nine films releasing on a single Friday? This must be a record,” Oza said.

The bigger worry for a small, heartfelt film is screen allocation — multiplexes often reduce shows as early as the second day if a film doesn’t open big. Oza has a theory about that: “What used to be the second Saturday for word-of-mouth films is now the third Saturday. We need more patience from exhibitors.” He pointed to recent examples like Main Vaapas Aaunga and Hanuman Ansh, both of which picked up significantly after their opening weekends, with Hanuman Ansh gaining momentum in its third week.

Little Thomas is a family film set in the Goa of the early 1990s. Gulshan Devaiah and Rasika Dugal play the parents of seven-year-old Thomas (Hridansh Parekh), who has one burning question — where do babies come from — and a single-minded wish: a baby brother. The official trailer balances light-hearted humour with gentle family drama against a cosy, retro-leaning Goan backdrop.

The film has had a long road to theatres — roughly nine years from script to India release — including a festival run in 2024 with screenings in Melbourne, Toronto and New York, which helped secure domestic distribution. It is co-produced by Anurag Kashyap (whose Good Bad Films backed the project), alongside Luminoso Pictures, Civic Studios and Flip Films. The CBFC cleared it with a U/A 7+ rating, and the film runs 2 hours and 5 minutes.

Sharing the October 23 date are films including Sonakshi Sinha and Zaheer Iqbal’s Tu Hai Meri Kiran, Adhyayan Suman and Divita Rai’s Main Na Raha Mera, and the romantic comedy Pehla Pyaar Doosri Baar — making this Friday one of the most crowded single-day slates in recent memory.

Watch the trailer:

Source: Bollywood Hungama (exclusive interview); ANI