Toby first look: Raj B Shetty unleashes his stunningly fierce inner Maari in new poster

Raj B Shetty has just revealed one of his looks from his upcoming next, Toby; one that is absolutely in sync with the title and release date announcement poster of the film, which featured a ‘bejewelled’ goat sporting a massive nose ring. The new poster, which came out moments ago, is pretty much the same, with red still being the predominant hue, only that the goat has now been replaced by Raj, looking fierce as ever, with a deep gash on his face and blood trickling down. This, according to Raj, is the look of the character at an important juncture of the narrative. He will not be seen like this throughout the film, he said. The first look, though, appears to be a perfect representation of the film’s theme music – Maari…Maari… Maari Ge Daari!

Here is the first look of Raj as Toby:

Toby, which Raj has written, produced and acted in, is apparently a revenge drama, with the actor-filmmaker in the title role. The character, says Raj, is someone who has been harassed consistently and then unleashes his inner Maari (goddess Maramma) to settle score. The circumstances that lead to this provocation is the main crux of Toby, says the actor.

The story is based on a work by TK Dayananda, which Raj reworked completely and then gave the responsibility of direction to his associate, Basil AL Chalakkal. The film, which also stars Gopalkrishna Deshpande, Chaithra J Achar and Samyukta Hornad in pivotal roles, is releasing in theatres on August 25. Toby, according to Raj, is a pacy mass film, with a lot of violence and bloodshed, which also sees him reunite with music director Midhun Mukundan and cinematographer Praveen Shriyan. The buzz is that unlike his earlier films, which were made and released only in Kannada, Toby is set to get a much wider outing. According to sources, although Toby has been made in Kannada, its universal subject has prompted the team to consider giving it a 5-language pan-India release. Raj is yet to confirm this development.