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With just eight days to go for Toxic: A Fairy Tale for Grown-Ups to hit cinemas, the makers have officially kickstarted the countdown to the film’s worldwide release on August 26.
Sharing a striking new poster featuring Yash, the team announced that advance bookings for the Geetu Mohandas-directed film will open on August 21. The poster sees Yash in an intense avatar against a fiery red backdrop, further building anticipation as the film enters the final stretch of its promotional campaign.
The update comes shortly after the trailer of Toxic offered audiences a closer look at the film’s stylized world. The trailer sees Yash in a double role, while introducing the characters played by Nayanthara, Kiara Advani, Tara Sutaria, Rukmini Vasanth and Huma Qureshi. Set against a backdrop of crime, power and complicated relationships, the trailer offers a glimpse into the story and the world created by Geetu Mohandas.
Yash opened up about what audiences can expect from this film, sharing why the film goes beyond conventional storytelling and explores the deeper, more uncomfortable sides of human nature. He emphasized that every layer of his character needed to be explored authentically. “Wherever that story will land, every layer of this character is important for going there. And for me, that kind of a story has to be told in the most authentic way. It is beyond me as a person,” he revealed on the TV show, Aap Ki Adalat.
Yash also pointed to the film’s tagline, A Fairy Tale for Grown-Ups, as an important indication of the kind of story into which audiences are stepping, making it clear that the film has not been conceived as children’s entertainment.
For Yash, Toxic is a complex and multi-layered story that viewers can understand and experience from their own perspective. The experience of the film’s characters and their world can be different for each viewer.
At the music launch of Toxic: A Fairy Tale for Grown-Ups in Mumbai, Rukmini Vasanth also opened up about her experience of being part of the film and stepping into Mellisa’s world, describing the project as unlike anything she has taken on before.
Speaking about what made Toxic special for her, Rukmini said, “Toxic is an incredibly special film for, I think, everyone who has been a part of it, certainly for me. There are so many things I could go into. There is the expansiveness of the world that we inhabit. The scale of it, I think, was something that really blew me away the first time I heard about it.”
However, she revealed that it was not just the scale and grandeur that drew her in, but also the complexity of its characters. “There is a glorious grayness in each of these characters. Each of them is so raw and so human,” she said.
Rukmini spoke about her curiosity to discover where Mellisa fit into the larger world of Toxic and how her character connected with the other characters in the story. “I was so excited about the journey of discovering how Melissa fit into this world and how the rest of them are related to each other. And there is so much of how it all was enmeshed together that I was just curious about,” she added.
The actor also admitted that getting the opportunity to share screen space with Yash was an exciting part of the experience. “There’s also the matter of being a Yash-sir fan girl and then getting to share screen space with him! That was also incredible for me. It is very unlike anything that I have been able to take on before. I think there is a uniqueness and a certain je ne sais quoi about Melissa.”
At the film’s trailer launch in Bengaluru, Yash had also expressed his gratitude to Huma Qureshi for believing in the film and placing her trust in the team. He acknowledged that despite her inclination towards unique and independent cinema, she dedicated her time to Toxic and embraced the makers’ vision for her character.
“You have taken a lot of time for this film, have believed in this and have given us that freedom to position each one of you,” he said, addressing her. Yash also revealed that the trailer intentionally holds back Huma’s character, hinting that audiences have only seen a small glimpse of what she brings to the film. Confident about her performance, he promised that she would leave a lasting impact on the big screen.
“But guys, I have to thank Huma, and you will witness her presence in the cinema. I think we have kind of not shown her much here. She is going to blow your mind and has done phenomenally well. Thank you, Huma, for being part of this.”
About the clash with Dhurandhar The Revenge that was to happen last March, Yash said, “Our date was announced eight months earlier. I never clash dates directly. If somebody’s movie comes, then is a clash. This time, there was confusion. My film Toxic was to release in March. People said that I got scared. I have nothing to lose in life, so I have no fear. There was a time when we had nothing in our pockets. Whatever we have now is God’s blessings. I have so many pluses in life, in love and success, that I do not have fear.”
About the further delay in the release of Toxic, he answered, “The only fear that I had was whether the product I am offering to the public is good or not. There was war going on at that time, there was confusion. I saw my product. I felt I needed more time. Then I decided to push—life goes on.”
Asked why he took risks like doing Toxic, when he could have easily done the third sequel to KGF, Yash replied: “I like taking risks. I love to live life dangerously. Life has to be a rollercoaster. Jahaan mushkil kaam hota hai, wahin pe izzat bhi milti hai (You get respect only when you do difficult things).”
