Latest news with #Toby
Hindustan Times
21 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
Su From So: JP Thuminad-Raj B Shetty's film has laughs galore, with a much bigger picture at play
Kannada actor-filmmaker Raj B Shetty's (of Garuda Gamana Vrishabha Vahana and Toby fame, both of which are available on OTTplay Premium) latest theatrical presentation is a horror-comedy that he has produced and acted in. Called Su From So, this one, like Toby, presents Kannada cinema with a new filmmaker. This time around, he supported the vision of Tulu theatre artiste and occasional film actor JP Thuminad, who is best remembered for his role as Deepak in Sapta Sagaradaache Ello Side B. Released in theatres on July 25, 2025, without much fanfare, the film banked heavily on word-of-mouth publicity from its paid premieres and that paid off richly. A still from JP Thuminad's Kannada directorial debut, Su From So Su From So is currently the highest grossing Kannada film of 2025 after only 5 days at the box office, even as overseas and dubbed versions releases are still pending. The film has been garnering rave reviews for blending a poignant social commentary about toxic masculinity and the plight of women at the receiving end of it, with laughs galore. Audiences across age groups have been thronging movie halls and the narrative on social media is that Raj and JP have delivered the most entertaining film of the year. Su From So is far more than just a hilarious comedy If one follows the comments that have been dropping on social media about Su From So, most are about how hilarious the film is from start-to-finish. The situational comedy, delivered by actors like Shaneel Gautham, Deepak Rai Panaje, Prakash Thuminad, Mime Ramadas and Pushparaj Bollar, among others, is what is being discussed widely. JP's film, though, is not mindless comedy that follows the 'possession' of a young man by a spirit from a neighbouring village – Sulochana from Someshwar. It also provides social commentary on toxic masculinity and misogyny, as told from the perspective of Bhanu, a brilliant Sandhya Arekere, whose mother Sulochana, is the 'spirit' possessing Ashoka (JP). A middle-aged unmarried woman, with no one to protect her after her mother's demise, Bhanu's plight begins at home and follows her everywhere she goes, with all the men in her surrounding, including her uncle, having nothing but indecent intentions with her. As Bhanu pours her heart out to her 'mother', it triggers an introspection and call for action in Ashoka, which is the true highlight of Su From So. The Kannada original Su From So had a limited release in the rest of India, but it will soon be available with dubbed versions in Malayalam, Telugu and Hindi. Dulquer Salmaan releases the Malayalam version on August 1, the Telugu one follows on August 8, while Anil Thadani will present the Hindi version, which does not have a confirmed date yet. The film's overseas theatrical journey also begins on August 1, in countries like the US, Germany, etc.
BBC News
a day ago
- General
- BBC News
Band of Builders finish Norfolk family home after father's death
A bereaved mother-of-six has hailed the "amazing" kindness of more than 150 volunteers who finished her home following the death of her Fletcher took his own life on Christmas Eve aged 44, having hidden his mental health electrician had been working on a renovation of their home near Swaffham, Norfolk, including vital facilities for his disabled son – but Cambridgeshire charity Band of Builders stepped in to Fletcher's wife Sarah said: "Thank you isn't enough - but a massive thank you." The tragic circumstances meant a ground-floor room for the couple's 16-year-old son stood as an empty requires round-the-clock palliative care due to quadriplegic cerebral palsy and dystonia, which meant Mrs Fletcher was having to carry him upstairs to bed each the job was completed in full in 12 days, with other renovations also completed around the house, fulfilling the initial plans for the home."This is amazing," said Mrs Fletcher. "It's better than I ever could have imagined, it's just a proper room for Toby, his own room and he deserves it."I don't have to carry him up the stairs, which is a massive positive."Shaun and Sarah married in 2007, with Mrs Fletcher describing her husband as "quite a joker" and a "hard-working person".She added: "If he wasn't working, he was trying to complete this extension for Toby."He thought a lot of Toby. He loved them all, he treated all of them the same."Toby would always have a smile for his dad." With the project providing some distraction during a difficult time, Mrs Fletcher has praised Band of Builders for bringing volunteers together from around the UK."They were just so lovely. They were here because they wanted to be here."Mrs Fletcher is sure her husband would have been "really pleased" with the finished project, particularly with the smart home system he had concluded: "It is amazing that the house is done but it is also sad that Shaun isn't here to see it." 'Good in this world' Among the volunteers was Paul Page, who said he had never been involved in something so special in about 30 years in the construction back tears, Mr Page said: "They needed the help, and I think everyone felt the same."It looks absolutely beautiful. They will have a much better life with the way the property is now."I know they haven't got a full family but they'll be much happier." Retired plasterer Brian Hicks got involved after his wife saw an advertisement on Facebook."I just thought, this is a great cause, and I can honestly say, the people that were here, I've never been in a working environment like it."Just the sheer kindness and commitment people had, money couldn't buy that type of thing. It just made you feel there is good in this world."If you have been affected by the issues in this story, help and support is available via BBC Action Line. Follow Norfolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
The Spinoff
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Spinoff
All the backstage selfies from The Spinoff's live events, ranked
Season two of The Spinoff Live event series is now on sale, and we couldn't think of a better way to highlight this than shamelessly leveraging The Spinoff's most popular format and Kim Hill slaying with a half-smirk. There I was, trapped in a dressing room with Toby Manhire, Annabelle Lee-Mather, Ben Thomas and Kim Hill. The vibes were immaculate. The chat? Surprisingly dirty. All I kept thinking was, I gotta get this selfie. It was the first event from season one of The Spinoff Live. I had been tasked with setting up 10 events across Auckland and Wellington to see if anyone would come to see our writers in the flesh. Toby, or not Toby, that was the question. In the end, our Wellington events sold out, and the Auckland events were bursting at the seams. Today, we are launching the first events for Season two of The Spinoff Live. Join us in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch (with more shows to be announced) to hear some clever Spinoff people and special guests debrief on the state of the world. In Wellington, we'll be staging a live version of Joel MacManus's popular column Windbag; In Auckland, our new video journalist Robbie Nicol will be lifting the curtain on his attempt to explain the world in his series Now You Know; the Gone By Lunchtime crew are bringing their popular political analysis to WORD Christchurch; and in November we're running the first ever Big End of Year Spinoff Pub Quiz in Auckland. Tickets to all these events are on sale now. I tried to take a selfie at each of the shows in season one. Head of audience Anna Rawhiti-Connell offhandedly remarked to me that I should rank them, and as stipulated in my contract, I must obey. So to celebrate the launch of our new events, here are my selfies from the last ones, ranked. Note this is no reflection of the shows themselves, all of which were equally fantastic. See you soon. 10 & 9. Singles Club Launch Party and Help Me Hera live in Auckland Good start, no selfies at these ones. 8. Help Me Hera live in Wellington We did two live versions of Hera Lindsay Bird's popular advice column, in conversation with Mad Chapman. I'd missed the moment at the Auckland version of the show, so in Wellington I was determined to get a pre-show snap with these two legends. Only one problem: I'd never met Hera, and Mad and I were still warming up. I interrupted their conversation to make it all about me (deeply embarrassing), resulting in an awkward and out of focus photo of Mad, Hera, Ben and a clothes horse. 7. Year in Review in Wellington Much less awkward but a bit buttoned up. Why didn't we do a silly one? Maria Williams is very silly and Joel MacManus was wearing a hat with a propeller on it for goodness sake. We could have hung onto his arms and pretended like we were all flying away together. By this point, I had nailed the perfect time to get a selfie, moments before chucking everyone on stage. The perfect time for me, but probably the worst time for everyone else. Such is life. Charlotte Cook looks remarkably poised for being roped in that afternoon. 6. The Fold live in Wellington Can you believe we got four generations in one photo? Chills. Lucy Blakiston and Spinoff staffer Te Aihe Butler separately made the joke that it was their dream blunt rotation. I don't want to speculate on Bernard Hickey's dream blunt rotation, but I do want to point out the vintage box TV on the wall of the Hannah Playhouse green room. Not sure why Duncan Greive looks so uncomfortable. 5. The Spinoff Book Club in Wellington This photo has it all — confusion from Duncan Sarkies and Carl Shuker. Susanna Andrew leaping into the frame. The gang signs from Claire Mabey! Especially pleasing are the books gripped by Courtney Johnson, Melissa Oliver and Duncan. They're book people and they've brought books. It's book time. 4. Year in Review in Auckland Worn down by a long year, here are two media rockstars, one real-life doctor and me, all willing to dress up, nut up, and face an equally drained Auckland audience. It should be noted that the premise of these two shows was to recap the entire year, by far the most prep-heavy of the formats we trialled across these events. Nothing scares Anna Rawhiti-Connell, though, in a suit that was described as 'red with the blood of her enemies'. Horns, bells, hat, shaka. 3. Best TV Show Ever in Auckland 'Can I throw lollies into the audience?' Alex Casey asked me. 'Will they like the show more?' She is dressed in props boy's original shirt and Lyric Waiwiri-Smith is dressed as the dog that learned to drive. Of all the selfies this one is framed the best between two walls of Q Theatre posters. Note the shiny flatscreen TV on the wall, we're not in Wellington any more. Stewart Sowman-Lund with the collared shirt of a senior journalist and Rhiannon McCall with the tall drink of a comedian. 2. Gone by Lunchtime live in Wellington The event that started them all. Back when I still thought The Spinoff was fancy. Look, I put a blazer on and everything. Toby and Ben are serving unexpected fierceness, or maybe the lights were in their eyes. Kim Hill slaying with the half smirk, and a coquettish look from Annabelle rounds it out. Truly 10/10, no notes. 1. Gone by Lunchtime live in Auckland Ben Thomas and Toby Manhire were sick at this show. Very sick. Toby described Ben as being held together purely by pseudoephedrine and he himself had brought back some kind of European pox from a recent trip. Minutes before going on stage he turned to me and rasped out one word ' Water'. I held my breath in and out of their dressing room so a selfie was out of the question. A more fitting end to these 10 events was a hasty, dark piccy in the ops box at the back of Q Theatre with podcast manager and all round gc Te Aihe Butler, and senior producer/when-she's-involved-all-my-problems-melt-away Jin Fellet. It's fun to take a swing at a big project like this, or in Te Aihe's words 'it would have been hard for someone not as good as us'. Thanks to everyone who was involved. The first events from season two of The Spinoff Live are on sale now.
Irish Examiner
2 days ago
- Health
- Irish Examiner
Family appeal for funds after HSE refuses to reimburse cost of baby's life-saving treatment
A heartbroken mum has criticised the government after being denied reimbursement for life-saving medication to help her seriously ill baby. At just seven weeks old, Lucy Gavin's son Toby has spent most of his life to date in hospital. Toby suffers from the rare condition, Propionic Acidaemia (PA), a metabolic disorder impacting the protein pathway. It has left the infant's life hanging in the balance on numerous occasions. Its destruction on his tiny body is such that the family is already in the process of trying to secure a liver transplant for him through King's College Hospital in London. Lucy says Toby needs carglumic acid, which is sold under the brand name Carbaglu, for the treatment of hyperammonaemia, characterised by abnormally high levels of ammonia in the blood. Lucy, who lives in Mullingar, said the only way they can gain access to the drug is while Toby is staying in the Children's Health Ireland hospital at Temple Street. Without personal access to carglumic acid, the family is unable to treat the condition at home. Consequently, Lucy says she now barely sees her husband Niall and has missed out on precious time with her daughter Ivy who is set to turn two in September. Since the family is unable to treat Toby's Propionic Acidaemia at home Lucy (left) now barely sees her husband Niall (second from right) and has missed out on precious time with her daughter Ivy (right). She added that without the drug, they will have to spend three out of every four weeks in hospital with Toby. Toby's medication comes in at €4,000 a month if accessed privately. Lucy said her son will need this for about a year to see any kind of stabilisation of his condition. She has been told it will likely be at least two years before he can undergo a liver transplant operation. Meanwhile, the family is also exploring clinical trials. A GoFundMe campaign has been set up by Toby's family and friends to cover his long-term treatment costs. A letter from the HSE's Primary Care Reimbursement Service (PCRS) informed Toby's doctor that carglumic acid is not reimbursed under community drug schemes or arrangements. The medical team has since reached out to manufacturers of the medication to see if they can access it on compassionate grounds. However, they are yet to receive a response. Lucy explained the dangers of the condition. 'When Toby can't break down these amino acids, they just build up into a toxin called ammonia. Basically, this is very poisonous to the body and really dangerous to the brain. It causes seizures, which obviously we've seen at home because the ammonia had reached a really high level. It can also cause brain damage, which is irreversible. "With this comes outcomes like cerebral palsy and difficulties walking and talking.' Toby spent his first few weeks after birth battling to stay alive. 'I feel like the newborn period has been stolen from us. We never got the opportunity to have the tiny newborn cuddles. This is because for the first week and a half he was stuck to a ventilator in an incubator. "We couldn't touch him. We never even got to hold him when he was in intensive care. He had 16 different IV medications running through him and a line in his neck that went to his heart. This had to be done because they needed to keep him alive. "However, I don't want to needlessly miss out on another three months of his life because he is stuck in hospital. Making memories as a family is so important to us.' Lucy, who worked as a paediatric nurse, said she never believed her family would be in this situation. At one point in the hospital we were told to ring Toby's grandparents to come and see him. It scared me so much because they only really do that when a child is dying. Another person mentioned about getting him baptised. She spoke about how the situation is impacting their daughter Ivy. 'The other night I couldn't help but cry because I was trying to put our little girl to bed. She was calling down for Niall and he wasn't there. "She was bawling crying. I started crying too, because there is no way to explain this to a two-year-old. When she comes down to the sitting room in the morning, the first thing she does is peek into the Moses basket, but he's not there.' To donate to Toby's treatment fund or find out more visit their Gofundme page.
Scottish Sun
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Scottish Sun
Meet Britain's loneliest dogs waiting 8 YEARS for forever homes – from house-trained Lulu to ‘real cuddle monster' Mika
Could you give one of these adorable pooches their forever home? BRITAIN'S loneliest dogs have been revealed, with some pooches waiting up to eight years to find their forever homes. Despite being "cuddle monsters" and "stealing the hearts" of animal shelter staff, many dogs are overlooked, and have to watch countless of their furry friends get adopted before them. 11 Could you give Toby his forever home? Credit: Dogs Trust Many have been treated incredibly cruelly before being taken in to care, with the RSPCA receiving an average of 374 reports of cruelty against animals every single day during the busy summer period. If you're looking to add an extra member to your family, why not consider one of these adorable pooches. Barney Barney is a nine-year-old Crossbreed, who has been living at Dogs Trust Merseyside for 3,000 days (eight years). 11 Barney is a nine-year-old Crossbreed Credit: The dogs Trust The lively, independent pooch is on the hunt for a forever family to provide a calm, rural environment for him. He would prefer a home without any other pets or children, and loves learning new skills and snuggling up with loved ones. Toby Also living at Dogs Trust Merseyside is 11-year-old lurcher Toby, who was handed over the the charity seven years ago due to his owner's ill health. 11 Toby is keen to find an adult-only retirement home Credit: Dogs Trust The ageing pup is keen to find an adult-only retirement home, with access to a large field he can play off-lead in. Toby enjoys gentle fuss, playing with his toys, and likes to hang out on walks with other lurchers and greyhounds. Domino 11-year-old Lurcher Domino has been in the care of Dogs Trust Leeds for a whopping 2600 days (over seven years). The playful pooch was found by the charity as a stray, and has struggled to find his forever home, despite being a fun and affectionate Canine. 11 Domino was found by the charity as a stray Credit: The dogs trust Domino is fully house-trained and loves peaceful rural walks, and is looking for an adult-only home where he is the only pet. Liam and Noel Named after the iconic rock duo, tiny chihuahuas Liam and Noel have been living at Battersea Dogs & Cats Home, for 150 days, four times longer than the average pooch stays at the shelter. The four-year-old cheeky chihuahuas need a private garden to play in, and could live in a family with older teenagers, who respect their space. 11 Liam and Noel are an inseparable pair Credit: Battersea Dogs Home Hannah Gee, Rehoming Team Leader at Battersea Old Windsor, said: 'Since coming into the centre through no fault of their own, this supersonic pair really are inseparable, and some might say that they've stolen the hearts of everyone they meet. "Though they were both quite nervous when they first came into us, little by little they have started to come out of their shells and are now looking to complete their band line-up with loving new owners'. Sonny Jim Sonny Jim is an ex-racing greyhound, and has been living at Battersea Home for Dogs & Cats for 270 days. 11 Sonny Jim is an ex-racing greyhound, Credit: Battersea Dogs Home The four-year-old pet can be shy at first, but his bouncy and affectionate personality soon shines through. Like most ex-racers, Sonny has a chase instinct, so he needs to be on a lead and muzzled when out and about, but he is very comfortable with this. Gina Crossbreed Gina was rescued by the RSCPA over 400 days ago, and has been in the care of the charity's Northumberland West Branch ever since. 11 When she was found, Gina was living in a cage Credit: RSPCA When she was found, the five-year-old canine was living in a cage where she was unable to stand, and had very little experience of the outside world. The pooch has been adopted twice already, but was both times returned to the RSPCA due to separation anxiety, and is still on the hunt for a family to show her love and affection. Kevin When seven-year-old Cane Corso Kevin first arrived at RSPCA Southridge Animal Centre, he was incredibly thin and week, and he has been getting care and treatment for the past 700 days. 11 Kevin has been in the care of the RSPCA for 700 days Credit: RSCPA Anna White, an RSPCA staff member who looks after Kevin said: "Super sweet, super playful, and super cuddly. Kevin is our gorgeous sweetheart who just wants love and attention. "He is a big boy and doesn't understand how strong he can be, gentle but a giant, and can be strong on the lead so his new owner will need to be able to hold him well.' Lulu Eight-year-old crossbreed Lulu was rescued by the RSPCA as part of an investigation, and has spent more than a year in total being cared for by the charity's Cornwall Branch. 11 Lulu is desperate for a forever home Credit: RSPCA The adorable pooch is house-trained, travels well in the car, and is happy to be left alone for a few hours. She would love a forever home with a secure garden, and with careful management, can be introduced to other dogs. Princess German Shepherd cross lab Princess arrived at RSPCA Gonsal Farm Animal Centre with a broken leg, after her owner was unable to afford treatment. 11 Princess arrived at the RSPCA with a broken leg Credit: RSPCA The two-year-old has since had surgery, and has been looking for an adult-only forever home since February. Despite being described by RSPCA staff as an "absolute joy" and "highly intelligent", she has so far been overlooked, and has watched countless furry friends get rehomed before her. Mika Mika was rescued by RSPCA Brent Knoll Animal Centre, before her owner was investigated and prosecuted. The five-year-old Akita, who has been searching for a home for more than a year, would need to be the only animal, and would be suitable to live with children of secondary school age. 11 Mika has been described as a 'cuddle monster' Credit: RSPCA Katy Darelli, Animal Centre Manager, said: 'She is a big, strong, powerful girl but she is a real cuddle monster. She really does love people. 'She has watched so many of her furry friends find their perfect match before her - and we just don't want to see her spend one day longer than he needs to in kennels.
