Toby 2023: Release date, trailer, plot, cast, budget, behind the scenes, OTT partner and more

Toby is Raj B Shetty's next big release that he has written and done the title role in. The film has been directed by Basil AL Chalakkal

Raj B Shetty in a still from the film

Toby is the latest production from the makers of 2021’s much-acclaimed Garuda Gamana Vrishabha Vahana. Written by actor-filmmaker Raj B Shetty, based on a short story by TK Dayanand, Toby has the former playing the title role as well. The film marks the directorial debut of Raj’s long-time associate Basil AL Chalakkal.

A glimpse into the world of Toby

Raj has been very miserly about sharing glimpses of the world of Toby with the public prior to the film’s theatrical release. Barring one of the looks his character sports in a pivotal sequence, he’s only released the trailer, which presented a certain story. Raj has, however, said that cutting this trailer without revealing the actual story was a tough ask and that if audiences think they’ve cracked the plot, that’s not the case.

Read also: Toby trailer: Raj B Shetty goes from simpleton to avenger in emotional revenge drama

The story of Toby

In the trailer of Toby , we are introduced to the title character, played by Raj, a simpleton, with a bit of a violent streak, who leaves all that behind for a life of peace and quiet when he meets Savitri (Samyukta Hornad). There is a young girl too in his life, whose relationship to Toby remains unclear and grows up to be Chaithra J Achar. There is a baddie played by Deepak Shetty, as well as Gopalkrishna Deshpande as Toby’s friend. When Toby is then pushed to his limits, he reacts with fierce violence, is what the gist of the trailer portrays, but Raj promises that there is far more to the film than what he has shown.

The team of Toby

The film stars Raj B Shetty, Chaithra J Achar, Samyukta Hornad, Bharath GB, Sandhya Arekere, Gopalkrishna Deshpande and Deepak Shetty, among others. Directed by Basil AL Chalakkal, Toby has Raj’s partners in crime Praveen Shriyan (DOP) and Midhun Mukundan (music), also on board.

Read also: Toby: The Raj B Shetty school of cinema helped me become a director, says Basil Chalakkal

The budget of Toby

Raj B Shetty has not spoken about how much was spent on the making, but he has said that it is the biggest film his team has made in terms of scale and money. The film has been produced by Agastya Films, Lighter Buddha Films, Coffee Gang Studios and Smooth Sailers.

The result of sweat and blood

From the time Raj began speaking about Toby, he has said that this was the film that was the most challenging for him as an artiste. While the trailer had glimpses of the film’s action-packed moments, what Raj also did is that for his ‘Maari’ look, instead of sporting a clip on nose ring, he decided to get his nose pierced for real and before it could heal well, began wearing the huge ring as seen in the film. This was not only painful for the actor, but also, on occasion, it would rip off during the action sequence and leave him bleeding. A behind-the-scenes video of this has been shared by the team.

OTT partner

Raj has not yet revealed if the film’s post-theatrical rights have been sold. We will update this as soon as information becomes available. His Garuda Gamana Vrishabha Vahana was picked up by Zee5 Kannada, so it remains to be seen who will bid the most for Toby.

Theatrical release plan

Toby is being presented in theatres in Karnataka by KVN Productions. The final number of shows/screens will become clear only closer to the August 25 release of the film. Raj has said that the focus will be to release the Kannada version of the film and give it maximum reach, but if there is demand from other markets, he will dub it in the respective languages. Last heard, there were enquiries for a Telugu version and the team was in discussion for the same.

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