Filmmaker Kabeer Khurana, who has directed Karma Cafe (2019) and Hangout (2020), is ready with his next short film Cuddles, which will star Jamie Lever, Vivek Vaswani and Komal Chhabria.
Cuddles is being produced by Raakesh Desai and has been co-written by Avirat Parekh. The film is due to be premiered on an OTT platform.
Jamie, the daughter of veteran actor and comedian Johnny Lever, is acting in a short film for the first time. She has previously appeared in films like Kis Kisko Pyaar Karoon (2015) and Housefull 4 (2019).
Speaking about the film, Lever said, “I recently met Kabeer and I’ve seen the body of work that he has. It’s really impressive, he’s worked with great artists and his work goes to show all the talent and zeal that he has.’’
“The kind of work I’ve done has always been in comedy, including impersonations and stand up, but I always try to break stereotypes to surprise my audience. When Kabeer narrated the script to me and told me that he had me in mind, I was very eager to be part of it,” she added.
Vivek Vaswani, the actor-filmmaker turned educationist, has a critical role to play in the short film. He said, “When Kabeer approached me for Cuddles, I was very happy to be part of it. Even though now I am in 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.”
Producer Desai stated that Cuddles has a beautiful and relatable story. “The moment I heard the story, I was sure I wanted to be a part of this film,” he said.
This film is directed by the very talented Kabeer Khurana who has co-written the story with Avirat Parekh. I am also delighted to have the opportunity to launch Jamie Lever; she is naturally gifted and has a very wide acting range. I am confident this film will give her a launching pad and open the doors for her genre-breaking acting future. It is also a pleasure to have the highly experienced Vivek Vaswani as a part of the film and co-star Komal Chhabria.”
“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,” Khurrana said. His last project Suttabaazi (2021) was a finalist for Filmfare Short Films this year.
Cuddles is currently in pre-production and is expected to begin shooting later this year.