Ramakant (Rajkummar Rao) is a chronic miser who instinctively gravitates towards the freebie like a homing pigeon to its roost. No discount is too low for the perfume seller’s dignity.
He’s the kind of man who will bring along a doggie bag to a feast or harangue a customer service executive for a six-rupee refund. Recycling advocates and cost-conscious people would approve, of course, but Ramakant’s antics deeply embarrass his wife Shilpa (Sanya Malhotra).
She’s driven to the edge of apoplexy when Ramakant insists on retrieving a toaster given as a wedding gift after the marriage is called off. The toaster has already been elsewhere and is now the bearer of a secret known only to D’Souza’s frequently stoned son Glen (Abhishek Banerjee).
The appliance then becomes an accessory to murder, which ties together Glen, the police inspector Balagode (Upendra Limaye), the government minister Amre (Jitendra Joshi) and Ramakant’s neighbour, the dirty old woman Malini (Archana Puran Singh).
For a film about extreme stinginess, Toaster is generous with the laughs. Vivek Daschaudhary’s Hindi film, which is out on Netflix, is an enjoyably silly comedy filled with off-the-wall situations and some daringly outre elements.
Toaster is based on a story by Parveez Shaikh and a screenplay by Shaikh, Akshat Ghildial and Anagh Mukerjee. Ghildial’s dialogue reflects the film’s overall light-hearted tenor. Director Daschaudhary relies on a suspension of disbelief, comfort with anything-goes humour and well-rounded characters to deliver the guffaws.
It’s the kind of movie in which cops investigate missing toasters and broken flowerpots, bland-looking apartments are vice dens, and outwardly appearance is no guarantee of good behaviour. The crisp premise is overstretched but the buffoonery is consistent.
Rajkummar Rao has a proven talent for playing characters who clumsily but also self-righteously dodge life’s curveballs. Right from the start, Ramakant is annoying, familiar and endearing, compensating for his pennypinching ways with wide smiles and a salesman’s charm. It’s a balancing act that’s more delicate than it looks, and is superbly conveyed by this gifted performer.
Sanya Malhotra provides solid backup as the judo black belt who nevertheless can’t defend herself. Shilpa does redeem herself through her obsession with the crime show Hoshiyar Hindustan. Archana Puran Singh is an inspired casting choice as the silver-haired Malini, but Singh isn’t up to navigating Malini’s undulating mysteries.
Farah Khan turns up in a memorable cameo. Another superb cameo at the end of Toaster decisively proves that Ramakant was right all along.
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