Toss poster

Toss

wogma rating: Watch if you have nothing better to do (?)

quick review:

If a film about lost money is 2.5 hours long, all you want yell is "show me the money…already!" Greed and deceit replace friendships in this thriller in quite an inhumane fashion.

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Director: Ramesh Khatkar
Running time: 150 minutes
Genres: Crime, Thriller
More Movie Info

A film where the main characters find a load of cash has huge potential for characters and their reaction to the windfall. Even if you have the standard one good guy who wants nothing to do with it, another few that are outright criminal in their intent, a couple in-betweens, there is enough scope to make it an intense character fight. But, Toss takes the other route, making itself a full-fledged whodunit thriller. Fair enough. But it outlives its welcome by creating suspicion for each character. While it's interesting for a bit, it gets tiring and you want it to be done with.

Toss is a depiction of the darkest side of humans. Enter money matters and everything else goes for a toss - love, friendship, honesty. And selfishness takes over within a blink of the eye. Perfectly humane characters can turn into cold-blooded murderers of the worst kind - the kind who can kill friends without remorse. To add to the darkness there are sudden spurts of comedy which take away from the thrill achieved so far. Maybe it happens, but there isn't enough development for it to be convincing.

Also, even if there is an innate beauty in leaving questions unanswered, here they feel more like a lapse in writing than an intentional part of the art. Also films that have all villains and no heroes or token heroes leave you no one to care for. As if this display is not enough there's a display of kids getting a kick out of torturing other humans. That might be the way nature has made us but sensitivity is completely missing here. So, if the thrills get cumbersome and the characters aren't appealing what is the viewer left with?

Performances, right? Out of the lot, Prashant Raj seemed to be the only one who took his job seriously. Even if the dubbing is totally off for the women, it is only one of the contributing factors for the out-and-out shoddy job done by them all. However it is nice to see Sushant Singh as a diffident character. Despite a general lack of talent in the acting department, it is commendable that none of the characters are loud. Except of course, Rajpal Yadav who spoils the little decorum with his quirkiness for his bit-role.

The wannabe cool shots, especially the close-ups of random objects which are meant to inspire fear, reminded me of RGV's Phoonk. Also, though the background music was abrupt at many places, there are spots where the strings used sound different and nice. But the consistent music is a bit overwhelming. Not to mention that the Bhangra song was out of place and not a pleasure to listen to.

It looked like an opportunity missed for what could have been an edge-of-the-seat noir depiction of us as people. The main culprit, despite the lack of attention to writing, is the length. You could take this one on when you have a remote to your aide.

- meeta, a part of the audience

10 reviewers(?) - 0 yays 1 so-so 9 nays

Warning: clicking on "full review" will take you to an external website that could contain spoilers.

So-So, by Joginder Tuteja, Now Running.com : ...Prashant Raj is in good form, especially in the second half. ... full review

Thumbs down, by Udita Jhunjhunwala, DNA : ...while the filmmaker tries to keep you in suspense till the end, the motive of the killer is shallow and the resolution unsatisfactory.... full review

Thumbs down, india.com : ...This is another film where everyone expects the audience to prefer zany, glossy camerawork over a cohesive story. ... full review

Thumbs down, by Taran Adarsh, IndiaFM : ...In a nutshell, the subject goes for a toss in TOSS. ... full review

Thumbs down, indiatimes : ...While the film starts off very crisply without wasting any time to get to the point, after a while it starts dangling around.... full review

Thumbs down, by Gohar Iqbal Punn, Radio Sargam : ...The story and screenplay appear to be utterly weak.... full review

Thumbs down, real bollywoood : ...Its good to take young actors who are less exposed on screen but why make each one of them show dollops of attitude at the drop of a hat?... full review

Thumbs down, by Sukanya Verma, Rediff : ...Toss is the A to Z of a rambling screenplay and tacky production values.... full review

Thumbs down, by Aalekh Kapoor, StarBoxOffice : ...Worth listening to once, and if you like it, more than that.... full review

Thumbs down, by SpiceZee Bureau, Zee News : ...the director takes a very long time to come to the point. The performances are missable.... full review

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This page has additional observations, other than the ones noted in the main review.

Plot Summary

5 friends chance upon loads of cash. Thus follows the inevitable deceit, betrayal, and exposure of the dark side in every human.

What Worked

  • The focus on Gandhiji's photo on the currency notes.

What did not

Note: This section simply lists the things that I did not like in this movie. This is not the overall impression about this movie. Please read the full review here

  • The shots through the key hole. Very gimmicky.
  • Rain trying to create pathos for the character - didn't that stop working like ages ago?
  • How come Sammy (Prashant Raj) doesn't realize that he has hurt his toe?
  • And could it be any easier for people to be found by their car's partial number plate in all of Goa? How did they even know which city and where in the city to start?
  • Is no one on the road bothered when a car hits a human being?
  • An 8-10 year old scans the entire house in less than a few minutes?!

Nitty-Gritty

This section lists things that I think are not important to the overall impact of the movie. In most cases, it could be explained away by something like, "we noticed the glitch after the scene was shot and there were schedule/budget issues and thus we could not re-shoot it". I like giving the makers the benefit of doubt, but I am amused nevertheless. Hopefully, they will tickle you too.

  • Why was only one person counting all the notes?
  • How does Sammy (Prashant Sachdev) see anything at all from the rear view mirror of his car with that huge picture on the rear glass?
  • How does the Sada's (Hardik Sangani's) video game work while he is holding it out in the rain?

Parental Guidance:

  • Violence: Loads. And at times, though visuals are not entirely gory, what they imply is gory.
  • Language: Swear words used every once in a while.
  • Nudity & Sexual content: 2-3 bedroom scenes and skimpily clad women all through.
  • Concept: That of greed and money taking over people's lives.
  • General Look and Feel: Its dark and gruesome.

Detailed Ratings (out of 5):

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Toss - Cast, crew, links

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Running time:
150 minutes
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