Toaster

For a film like this to work, you need zippy writing, full of smart gags. In this Rajkummar Rao-Sanya Malhotra-starrer, so little lands that it's deeply depressing: you are left scraping off burnt toast.

Toaster is a totally deranged comedy that keeps delivering preposterous laughs. The film is a light-hearted comedy that pokes good-natured fun at people who are stingy with their money without ever hitting below the belt, marking a confident debut for director Vivek Daschaudhary.

TOASTER is a quirky entertainer that benefits greatly from its unusual plot and Rajkummar Rao’s thoroughly enjoyable performance. Despite a weaker second half, the film has enough amusing moments and eccentricity to keep one invested. It is the kind of film that can find its audience and prove to be a success on OTT.

A Rs 5,000 toaster sets off a chain of chaos in this sharp, tightly controlled dark comedy led by Rajkummar Rao's quietly brilliant performance. Smart, strange and consistently engaging, the film balances humour with menace.

At one point in Toaster, Ramakant (Rajkummar Rao) goads Inspector Balagode (Upendra Limaye) to "awaken the animal inside you" and that, for me, is the film's smartest, most tongue-in-cheek moment. It cheekily nods to Limaye's presence in the hit Animal (2023), but also makes you wonder if there's enough of that crackling energy here to truly power Toaster.

Toaster is neither a laugh-out-loud comedy nor the kind of satire you would expect from a premise like this. Rajkummar Rao's boyish charm that once felt natural now seems rehearsed, the physical quirks feel recycled, and the whole act feels stuck on repeat. By the end, this Toaster yields the result of a burnt toast. It is best left untouched.