Gopalkrishna Deshpande on Toby: Raj B Shetty and I are the actual ‘couple’ in the film

Gopalkrishna Deshpande is one of the pivotal characters in Toby, which releases in theatres on August 25

Gopalkrishna Deshpande in a still from Toby

Gopalkrishna Deshpande’s last onscreen outing with Raj B Shetty had him plotting the downfall of the latter in Garuda Gamana Vrishabha Vahana. He was the cop, Brahmayya, tasked with taking down Mangaladevi’s gangster duo Shiva (Raj) and Hari (Rishab Shetty). The actor is back to collaborate with Raj in this week’s Toby, in a character that he describes is far more important to Toby than the heroines.

In the film, Gopalkrishna plays Damodara, who the actor says is a genuine human being. The beauty of this character, says the actor is that Damodara has a wonderful relationship with Toby, played by Raj. The film, he says, has two heroines in the form of Samyukta Hornad’s Savitri and Chaithra J Achar’s Jenny, but the actual couple, Gopalkrishna reckons, is Damodara and Toby. There is real chemistry between these two friends with Damodara serving as one of Toby’s major pillars of support, he explains.

Throughout the promotions of Toby, Raj has maintained that the film is character-driven, which includes Gopalkrishna’s Damodara as well. Each of these characters will strike a chord with audiences, Raj had said. Although the film is based on a short story by Dayanand TK, Raj has only picked a few characters and the setting of the tale, padding it up with his own narrative and introducing a few new people in Toby’s life.

Read also: Raj B Shetty: My next production will be a comedy in which I am not the hero

The film is the third production from his Lighter Buddha Films, along with Coffee Gang Studios and Agastya Films and is releasing in theatres on August 25. KVN Productions is handling the Karnataka release of the film. The team is considering dubbed versions too, but has not confirmed yet, if Toby will release in more than just the Kannada original.

Toby is best described as a revenge drama about a simple family man , who becomes Maari, the destroyer of evil, owing to certain extreme circumstances in his life.

Read also: Raj B Shetty on life before cinema | "All I had envisioned for myself was marriage & a small family"

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