Toaster
Introduction
The subtext of living in the city of Mumbai as a humble middle-class personnel is evident in the initial reels of the new Hindi film Toaster, through the character of Ramakant (Rajkummar Rao). In fact, it is the protagonist’s personality that drives the narrative (and the laughs) early on. In a scene, you see him acting as an elderly imposter to gain a six rupee refund from the telecom service, only to pose it as a victorious celebration in front of his wife Shilpa (Sanya Malhotra) . You see him staying in a society for elderly people just so that he is able to save on some rent money. He tends to have breakfast with his landlord under the pretext of ‘care and company’, while also faking information about his wife undergoing IVF – in order to further gain a discount on his rent. Elsewhere, he looks to parcel food at a wedding to recover his gift cost, also initially opting to gift a tester spray from his shop, packaging it like a limited edition perfume wrapped in a large rich-looking box. In other words, Ramakant is a stingy miser – that one person whom you would often find in your own family, and the one who would have successfully psyched you into creating clones of himself! But you see the reason behind Ramakant’s miserly behavior – the idea of having to survive in a tough city like Mumbai.
Story & Screenplay
Written by Anagh Mukherjee, Parveez Shaikh and Akshat Ghildial, Toaster has the soul of the Kunal Kemmu comedy Lootcase (2020), or even the more recent Netflix film Dhoom Dhaam (2025) that essentially featured the protagonist(s) hustling through the misadventures of life stemming from an object or a specific situation. Here, the Chekhov’s Gun is a toaster – an object as humble as the financial situation of Ramakant, that would eventually change his life in the near future. The idea of gifting a toaster already turns into a nightmare for the protagonist, who hilariously mentions a different price to evoke an element of sympathy and stature – both in the same breath.
It is funny how a cancelled wedding later, you find the protagonist on a wild goose chase – something that is spoofy by its very nature given how he isn’t after a bag of money, but simply an object that he would look to return in exchange for a humble sum of money. It is also interesting on how this situation stems from his stingy nature – something that automatically forms a dichotomy with respect to the crime genre. It remains a very specific case of ‘innocent’ theft from an orphanage (a hilarious sequence featuring a surprise cameo) that spirals a series of events – a couple of dead bodies, a blackmailing twist and a twisty avalanche in the life of the protagonist.
It is also interesting on how a subplot wishes to tap into the underbelly of politics, with a strand that may not really be shocking anymore, but it ably fits into the narrative that is centered around a middle-class man. The subtext remains similar to a common man taking on the corrupt system – except that, the common man here is unaware of a minister’s misdoings and an unassuming ‘corrupt’ cop who over-estimates this common man, while wishing to track the toaster that beholds a very specific piece of evidence.
The characters in the fray remain consistently colourful and wacky – an old woman who never gets the privilege of a working toaster leading to her ‘constipated’ death, her son being the perennial druggie blackmailer who soon becomes the hunted, a supposed elderly woman who suddenly flips as Malini from Raaz (2002), further contributing to laughter, chaos and bodies along the way. And a budding Sherlock of the society that mounts her detective skills from a fictional ‘Desi’ crime show. They is collectively contribute to crumbs of laughter that would tickle your funny bone, even as the humour effectively contributes to the unhinged rhythm of the narrative.
The slight bout of falter transpires during its final act that aspired to be a mad-caper Priyadarshan finale, but instead offered bouts of self indulgence – a trait that partially and momentarily deviated from its core. But even in the moment, I liked how the Chekhov’s gun here maintained a consistent thread right until the finale. But more so, the principal characteristic of the protagonist did not change throughout the narrative – often being an aide for meta-humour to creep in, one involving a hilarious cameo in the first act, and the other in the final act to wrap up the screenplay. The comedy set-pieces felt appropriate, while resulting in several bouts of humour.
Dialogues, Music & Direction
The dialogues are quirky and perfectly in sync with the tone of the drama. Certain meta-references sprinkled through the lines – some with respect to films, some with respect to famous characters on celluloid, and others a nod to real-life celebrities make for an icing on the cake. The music has a playful undertone to it, through the raps that are played out, something that is well complimented by its BGM too. The cinematography plays well with the colour grading and production design, given how shades of grey with sharp frames are used to evoke elements of horror mixed with comedy at a few instances, while consistently keeping you connected to the characters and their quirks.
The editing pattern consistently maintains the tempo of the narrative without really offering lags, something that keeps you on your toes and entertained. Director Vivek Daschaudhary in his directorial debut, ably controls the narrative through its quirks while consistently maintaining a thread of laughter throughout the drama. The techniques employed are spoofy – colourful characters, a series of misadventures, and bouts of dark humour along the way. But apart from the mildly over-indulgent finale, there is method to the madness that keeps you consistently engaged – even as the filmmaker manages to impress you with his grip on the proceedings. The direction is pretty good here.
Performances
The performances are pretty good by the members of the cast. Naman Arora (you may know him from India’s Got Latent) is refreshingly subdued with his comedy, and he manages to impress here. Seema Pahwa is exceptional here in an unhinged character, while managing to put a smile on your face despite a limited screen time. Farah Khan had me cracking up everytime she appeared onscreen, and her dramatics resulted in unhinged bouts of humour. Vinod Rawat as Guddu, Karmveer Choudhary as Guruji, and Parnalekha have their moments to shine, and they manage to pull off commendable acts. Jitendra Joshi as Amre remains well restrained, although I did feel that his character was slightly underwritten.
Abhishek Banerjee has a solid flair for comedy, and as Glen he definitely manages to tickle your funny bone. Upendra Limaye may again have had a slightly underwritten role, but he infuses his character with such energy and refreshing bouts of humour, that I found myself thoroughly entertained with his act. Archana Puran Singh as Malini is a revelation, offering varied shades of her quirky personality – often following the rule of who she projects herself as versus who she actually is. And the twin personalities are absolutely chaotic to witness here (in a good way).
Sanya Malhotra as Shilpa has such a disarming personality onscreen, that it is hard not to root for her. She is warm and assertive, while matching the comedic beats of her co-actor and delivering a superb act that definitely had me smiling from ear to ear. Rajkummar Rao as Ramakant excels in a form of comedy that isn’t always easy to crack. It all boils down to comic timing, and Raj absolutely hits it out of the park with the varied tones of comedy that his character has to offer. It ranges from situational to physical to simply character-based, and the beats were perfected beautifully. This remained an incredible act by Rajkummar Rao in what felt like a return to form after Vicky Vidya Ka Woh Wala Video (2023), Bhool Chuk Maaf (2025) and Maalik (2025).
Conclusion
Despite a stutter at the end, Toaster is a rib-tickling crime comedy with crumbs of laughter and quirky performances that make for a hilarious watch. Available on Netflix.