Raj B Shetty: Toby is a mass film that will have audiences rooting for the characters

Toby, which releases in theatres on August 25, is a character-driven revenge drama, directed by Basil AL Chalakkal

Raj B Shetty in the first look of Toby

Raj B Shetty is currently preparing for the release of his next, Toby, a film that he’s written and acted in. While Raj has described the film as a revenge drama, he adds that it will have a fair share of violence too and that it will be more massy than his earlier Garuda Gamana Vrishabha Vahana (GGVV) was. This, of course, has given rise to questions as to whether the two films are similar in terms of genre. Raj maintains that Toby and GGVV couldn’t be more different and explains that when he was making the latter, his intention was to market it as a mass film, but the writing would be far from it.

In GGVV, Raj was clear that he wanted to make a mass film, but without the usual tropes associated with it, including elevation shots or major action sequences. There was violence, but the focus was never on the actual act. Effectively, Raj ended up making a classy mass film. Toby, he adds, also does not follow standard mass movie templates; instead it is character-oriented mass, which he believes will have audiences applauding the characters, rather than the actors involved. The story, he adds, has a natural setting, giving it a distinct feel.

Toby, which also stars Gopalkrishna Deshpande, Chaithra J Achar and Samyukta Hornad, will be in theatres on August 25. The film sees Raj reunite with his trusted DOP Praveen Shriyan and music composer Midhun Mukundan. The film’s title theme, Maari Ge Daari, is already a hit. Earlier today, Raj announced that KVN Productions will present and distribute Toby in Karnataka. Although it has been made in Kannada, Raj does not rule out the possibility of dubbing the film in other languages depending on how well it is received by audiences here.

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