Toby OTT release date - When, where to watch Raj B Shetty's gripping action drama

Basil Alchalakkal's 'Toby', which was released in theatres earlier this year, is now all set to make its OTT debut. The gripping crime drama will premiere on Sony LIV on Friday, 22 December.

Raj B Shetty, who wrote, co-produced and also starred in the lead role in 'Toby', took to social media to announce that his film, after a long wait, will soon be available to stream. Having attracted positive reviews from critics and audiences alike during its theatrical run, Toby has been quite in demand among OTT subscribers for a repeat viewing of the film.

Here's OTTplay's review of 'Toby':

Toby movie review: Raj B Shetty presents a heart-achingly beautiful and tragic tale

What is 'Toby' about?

Set entirely in the heart of Uttara Kannada in the Kumta region, 'Toby' traces the titular character's long and tragic tryst with crime. In essence, the story is told in a non-linear format that accommodates various stages of the protagonist's life, including his early days as an angsty teenager in a remand home, wherein a priest first spots him and christens him Toby (short for Tobias).

Toby is affable, honest and also extremely loyal, except that he tends to violence with a single thought and as a result, he doesn't boast a single "loved one" to his name. It doesn't help his cause that he is mute following a specific incident and has to struggle every time he wishes to convey his thoughts.

Things, of course, change when an infant girl, who would later named Jenny, enters his life as his daughter. The crux of 'Toby', the film, lies here in the relationship between Toby and Jenny as they navigate life's many challenges.

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A gritty action drama

Prior to the theatrical release of the film, Raj B Shetty highlighted that 'Toby' is his most "commercial" experiment to date. Of course, the film featured all his trademark sensibilities and also had a strong story to rely upon, but what Raj meant to say is that one would find a few carefully designed "mass moments" in film scattered all over. This was primarily achieved through action sequences and even the slo-mo cinematography (by Praveen Shriyan), largely to make the theatrical experience a bit more engaging and fun.

'Toby', the titular character, is based on an 8-page short story written by T.K. Dayanand which would serve as the base for Raj B Shetty's story for the feature film. In a conversation with OTTplay, he shared that he retained the characteristics of the film but chose extrapolate and even change the main setting of his version to write the screenplay.

The cast of 'Toby'

Raj B Shetty, of course, plays Toby with Snigdha, a child artist playing a younger Jenny and Chaithra J Achar portraying the older version of the character. Samyukta Hornad, Gopalkrishna Deshpande, Raj Deepak Shetty, Sandhya Arakere and others, too, are part of the cast in crucial roles. Midhun Mukundan is the film's music composer.

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