‘Little Thomas’ review: Tender humour as a boy tries deals with grown-up problems

Thomas Miranda (Hridansh Parekh) has two pressing concerns: where do babies come from, and how can he get a baby brother? When he was six, he wanted a zoo; now at seven, he is convinced that he needs a sibling. His attempt to find answers lead him to a priest, his kindly neighbour Mrs Braganza (Mahabanoo Mody-Kotwal) and conversations with his two friends: Nigel, who has an insatiable appetite, and Murthy, a science enthusiast.

Thomas’s parents Desmond (Gulshan Devaiah) and Jessie (Rasika Dugal) run a bakery, but business is slow. Jessie teaches piano, but dwindling interest among children in learning music threatens her livelihood. Desmond and Jessie’s disagreements are shaped by everyday pressures, though Thomas, naturally, sees things in much simpler terms.

Set in 1990s Goa, Little Thomas follows a family under financial strain. Writer-director Kaushal Oza views the anxieties of adult life through a child’s determined, if faulty, logic.

Oza captures a familiar aspect of childhood: the way a child can latch onto a stray piece of information and pursue it with absolute conviction. The film takes Thomas’s curiosity seriously without talking down to him. His earnest attempts to make sense of the adult world offer moments of amusement, even if the narrative repeatedly circles back...

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