Toss Review

Toss is essentially about greed and deceit - the dormant qualities in humans, that seem to cancerously swell whenever there's a bag or two of cash in the vicinity. And when the greens belong to no one in particular in reality, as they would be in a freak finding in an out-of-the-way underground pit, the demons are even more well-fed.

The story begins with a venturesome bunch of friends coming across two trunkfuls of money in a forest. Despite their conscience-keeper squirming about the fact, haul it back home, agreeing to split. They hire a key-maker Duffy (Rajpal Yadav) to open the trunks, and find in him the first obstacle to their booty party.

A bitchy and insiduous pursuit for the prize starts among the gang, even as the real owners, played by Mahesh Manjrekar and Sushant Singh, go berserk when they discover their hot goods gone. Revealing anything more would utterly ruin the film, but it is when these men enter the story that the real punch comes in.

Toss starts out with a contrived attempt at backpacker banter and attitude, but soon turns out to be a commendably creative effort in writing, especially in the second half. One of the problems with the film is the way it winds it all up - there's simply no relief at having uncovered the mystery, and neither is there any fitting retribution in sight.

The story depends not on the twists as much as it does on the quirkiness factor. Zakir Hussain (who plays the calm, collected police officer D'cunha) with his coolth and Mahesh Manjrekar with his sarcasm, add immense weight with some hilarious pithy lines. However, the humour is dark throughout, and sometimes goes pitch black. The whole bit about the kid taking part in the gangsters' activities - dismembering a body, even - is freakish to the limit.

Performances by the senior, more experienced members of the cast, are brilliant. As for the younger lot, Rannvijay Singh stands out for his casual cheer, but there's not much else except for some visible dexterity by the director. The women are pretty, and spontaneous, but Aarti Chhabria does go overboard with her blunt attempts at steaminess.

The soundtrack is typically set to accompany the pacing, sometimes going with the eccentricity too. An unwanted song pops on with choreography, but doesn't jar the senses. A couple of numbers are part of the background track, though, and seem quite weighty.

It is the low budget that goes against the film, ultimately, with the visuals looking jaded. However, impressive camera shots throughout assure you that the film is the work of someone who knows what he's doing.

Toss is an interesting attempt at thrills and tongue-in-cheek, and will engage you if you belong to a very niche, non-judgemental section of the audience. Watch it if you're very keen, but there's probably no need to rush things - it'll soon be on TV.