Kiara Advani says Sidharth Malhotra was unbothered by her intimate scenes with Yash in Toxic, admits film's negative response left her ‘very low’

Kiara Advani had faced personal attacks for her intimate scenes with Yash in Toxic, with several social media users questioning her choices.

Kiara Advani has spoken about the criticism she faced for her intimate scenes with Yash in Toxic: A Fairy Tale for Grown-Ups, admitting that the film's initial reception left her disappointed. The actor discussed the controversy on Koffee With Karan Season 9, where she appeared alongside husband Sidharth Malhotra. The episode also gave the couple a chance to celebrate a personal milestone. Kiara and Sidharth announced in early October 2026 that they were expecting their second child.

Kiara Advani reveals Sidharth Malhotra never brought up her intimate scenes in Toxic, says negative response left her ‘very low’.

Kiara Advani admits Toxic's response was heartbreaking

Speaking to Karan Johar about the film's performance, Kiara said she had a difficult time dealing with the response during its opening weekend. Despite the strong opening, the film did not receive the reaction the team had hoped for. “On day one, it is heartbreaking. Especially for this film, because as a team in totality any of us saw this coming. When it misfired despite it opening to what it did. It was heartbreaking for me that first weekend. I was very low about it,” she said.

However, the actor also found some encouragement in the appreciation she received for taking on a role that was different from what audiences had seen her do before. She said, “But, then, there was a lot of appreciation. The fact that I had gone outside of my comfort zone playing that role. I think in my journey this will be defining.”

Kiara Advani says Sidharth Malhotra was not bothered by the controversy

The conversation soon moved to the trolling that followed the release of the song Tabaahi. Kiara faced personal attacks for her intimate scenes with Yash, with several social media users questioning her choices because she is married and a mother. Sidharth was also brought into the discussion, with people speculating about his reaction to the scenes.

Karan highlighted the obvious gender bias in the criticism, pointing out that married male actors are rarely questioned in the same way for performing intimate scenes. Kiara said Sidharth had never made an issue of it and that the subject had not even come up between them. “He had not cared about it. He has never brought it up. We have never spoken about it. It did not affect him, he was not bothered,” she said.

She also pointed out that this was hardly a new experience for women in the film industry. “It has been happening now for donkey years, for decades. From Aishwarya to so many wonderful actors,” she added.

Interestingly, Kiara said she did not feel the need to defend herself when the controversy was unfolding. "What I must touch upon is when I was seeing what was going on the internet, there was a massive reaction of people who had already started calling it out, the hypocrisy, and I really did not feel the need to even justify," she said.

What was Toxic about?

Directed by Geetu Mohandas, Toxic: A Fairy Tale for Grown-Ups was Yash's first film after KGF: Chapter 2. Set in post-independence Goa, the gangster drama follows a world shaped by crime, violence, power struggles and shifting loyalties. Yash plays two characters, Raya and his son Rumi, while Kiara plays Nadia, Rumi's mother.

The film received an 'A' certificate from the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) and had a runtime of over three hours. Despite opening strongly at the box office, it faced a mixed response from critics and audiences, with its collections losing momentum in the days that followed.