Raj B Shetty overwhelmed by the response to Toby’ s first-look poster

Raj B Shetty’s upcoming film, Toby, has become the talk of the town. The first glimpse of the poster, which was released a few days ago, featured a goat with a striking nose ring attached to film’s theme music, Maari... Maari... Maari Ge Daari, which instantly caught the audience’s attention. Now, the makers unveiled the first look on Thursday with actor Raj B Shetty’s face replacing the goat in a poster filled with intense shades of blood red. His anger and the fierce gaze with the big nose ring only heightened expectations.

Raj, who made his debut with the comedy, Ondu Mottaye Kathe, ventured into gangster territory with Garuda Gamana Vrishaba Vahana, and is now set to star in a revenge drama. Unlike his previous films where he wrote the story, Toby is based on the writings of TK Dayanand, which is inspired by a real story that took place in the interior of Karwar, Kumta, and Ankola.

Raj has also taken on the responsibility of directing alongside Basil AL Chalakkal, his associate of 12 years, who is making his directorial debut. The film also features Gopalkrishna Deshpande, Chaithra J Achar, and Samyukta Hornad in pivotal roles and is scheduled for release in theatres on August 25. According to Raj, Toby is a grand mass entertainer with Midhun Mukundan composing the music and Praveen Shriyan handling the cinematography. While Raj is confident in the content of Toby, he initially plans for a Kannada release and will consider releasing it in other languages after its release in August.

In his interaction with CE, Raj expressed feeling overwhelmed after the responses to the film's poster. He emphasised the importance of not overhyping or selling the wrong film. “As a team, we are very confident and have utilised our talent to the best of our ability,” he asserts.

Interestingly, Raj pierced his nose for the film. “Sometimes, when things are under your control, you need to truly feel the character rather than just understanding it. To wear a big nose ring, your mind needs to be disturbed or challenged. To reach that space, I couldn’t afford to be artificial with the nose ring, and it worked so well when I performed,” he says.

According to Raj, every experience affects the artist within, either positively or negatively. “At some point, the artist in me was fueled with rage, and that translated to make Toby. I have never felt this charged or driven for such a long time. I used to be very composed, but that composure comes with good content. However, if you disturb it, there are consequences, and that’s how Toby evolved,” the filmmaker elaborates. Raj, who is all set to go the extra mile to promote his film for the next two months, doesn’t believe that he is such a big star that people will wait for two years to watch his films. “It’s the attention that the film’s content garners that captures viewers’ interest. I make films that reflect what’s happening around us, and I don’t know how to exaggerate or create pompous star moments,” he states firmly.