PremiumToby in Malayalam: Dulquer Salmaan to present Raj B Shetty’s revenge saga in Kerala
Basil AL Chalakkal’s directorial debut had released in theatres in Karnataka on August 25 and received mixed reviews.
Last Updated: 02.03 PM, Sep 13, 2023
Raj B Shetty’s promotional strategy for his last release Toby was to pitch it as a commercial film that has far more whistle-worthy moments than his earlier Garuda Gamana Vrishabha Vahana. That was a mass film disguised as a class movie, so, when Raj made such high promises, expectations also skyrocketed for Toby. This was fuelled by the first look that he revealed in his Maari (destroyer of evil) avatar, including the nose ring and the battle scars. But when Toby came out, it turned out to be something else .
And that something was a bit of a disappointment for audiences who were expecting a hardcore commercial film with high-octane action blocks. What it turned out to be was an emotionally-charged father-daughter revenge saga that was well-made and had a bunch of noteworthy performances. While that was still a good cinematic experience, it did not have elevations that some fans hoped for. The film’s problem, they reckoned, was its slow-paced narrative, with some even commenting that it felt like a movie from across the border, say, Malayalam or Tamil, for instance.
This is a feedback that Raj has taken to heart and is now set to see if audiences there agree with the ones back home. Raj will release the Malayalam dubbed version of Toby on September 22 in the state and none other than Malayalam star Dulquer Salmaan is going to help him with that. Dulquer’s Wayfarer Films will present Toby in Kerala. Prior to the theatrical release of the Kannada original, Raj had said that he had enquiries for a Telugu version, but there’s been no update on that. The film’s post-theatrical satellite and digital rights are also up for grabs still.
Toby, which marked the directorial debut of Raj’s long-time associate Basil AL Chalakkal, has music by Midhun Mukundan (Rorschach fame) and has Chaithra J Achar, Samyukta Hornad, Gopalkrishna Deshpande, among others, on its cast.