Jamie Lever, daughter of veteran actor Johnny Lever, will be making her debut in the lead in Disney+ Hotstar’s short film Cuddles. The film is based on the short story by Larissa Theule titled Kafka And The Doll. It is written and directed by Kabeer Khurana and co-written by Avirat Parekh.
Jamie is known for her comic side in her stand up shows, just like her dad. But she is glad to have gotten a chance to do something different in Cuddles. “I was sold on the script when I met Kabeer and understood his vision as he narrated the story to me, she said in a statement. “It was difficult for me as I have always done comedy and this is a very unique project, very subtle, very real, from the heart, different from all the other things I've done in the past. I was just excited to play a fresh and refreshing character.”
Coming to the changes she had to encounter, she added, “When it comes to comedy you can go over-the-top and be loud with your performance but when you have a subject like this, you have to really be subtle, heartfelt and underplay to bring out those deep emotions. Kabeer was extremely helpful. We did a couple of readings and he made me realize how you can touch those emotions and bring that out in the scenes. I also like that Kabeer incorporated a little singing which is one of my strengths. I got to sing live and record my own songs which is a great opportunity.”
Cuddles also stars the veteran actor Viveck Vaswani and Komal Chhabria in pivotal roles.
Speaking about the casting, Kabeer said, “A lot of names were thrown into the mix. Jamie’s and Viveck’s names also came up. My mom was a big fan of Jamie’s stand-up and online content and I thought it would be interesting to have her break the stereotype of just being a comedian, to being a nuanced & emotional performer. I felt that she had been unfairly pigeonholed and she was incredibly versatile. The film captures her diverse talents and she also sings a song in the film which plays over the end credits! Cuddles is a story about hope and we are confident that in such harrowing times, the project will connect with the audiences even more than it normally would.”
With Cuddles, Vaswani got a chance to be in front of the camera after a long time. He said, “When Kabeer approached me for Cuddles, I was very happy to be part of it. Even though now I am in (the field of) education, working as the dean of the school of contemporary media at Pearl Academy, nothing gives me greater joy than being able to act. To top it all, it’s a warm script which is the need of the hour.”
Cuddles will be streaming on Disney+ Hotstar from December 3.
Also Read: Father-daughter duo, Johnny and Jamie Lever join the Housefull 4 cast
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