Cast: Yash, Kiara Advani, Nayanthara, Huma Qureshi, Tara Sutaria and Rukmini Vasanth
Director: Geetu Mohandas
Rating: ★
There’s something about Geetu Mohandas and Yash’s Toxic: A Fairy Tale for Grown-Ups that has rubbed people the wrong way since the first promo was released. Initially, it felt like the uproar was over the depiction of sex or the grand dose of misogyny that came with a side of gratuitous violence. In hindsight, it feels like maybe our gut instinct was telling us everything about the film was surface-level. At least, mine was.
Toxic movie review: Yash plays dual roles in Geetu Mohandas' film.
The story of Toxic
Raya (Yash) and his sister Ganga (Nayanthara) want to control all illegal businesses in Goa, which is still under Portuguese rule, even as the rest of the country has achieved independence. Bethrothed to be married to kingpin Salvador’s (Darrell D'Silva) daughter Rebecca (Tara Sutaria), Raya is on the verge of making all his sister’s dreams come true. Then Nadia (Kiara Advani) arrives, and the usually dispassionate gangster begins to feel something resembling love. But even before Raya and Nadia can get lost in their bubble, fate has something else in store. And Raya might have to answer for all his deeds.
Movie Review
Toxic
1/5
Action
Raya (Yash) and his sister Ganga (Nayanthara) want to control Goa. But falling in love comes in the way of their plans
Director
Geetu Mohandas
Cast
Yash, Kiara Advani, Nayanthara, Huma Qureshi, Tara Sutaria and Rukmini Vasanth
Verdict
Toxic tries to be the antithesis of glorifying problematic characters but ends up pandering to them
Toxic movie review
Toxic is filled to the brim with characters over its 3-hour-14-minute runtime, who come and go at brief intervals. Despite whatever Yash (who received a co-credit for the story, screenplay, and dialogues) and Geetu intend, the ‘big reveal’ comes a little too late and does far too little for it to work. Most of the film is spent sacrificing any coherence at the altar of what’s supposed to be a powerful, sexy, and seemingly unbeatable character. Ever so often, guns, axes, knives and bombs are whipped out so Yash can hack into other men. After a point, one bloodbath rolls into another, and it’s hard to remember why exactly he’s fighting.
Deep Dive
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The oddities that stand out
The story of Toxic is so banal that you begin to notice every little flaw is magnified. That lipstick smudge on Huma Qureshi’s character Elizabeth’s teeth in one scene, or how artificial the sky looks, are the kind of things you pick up. You wonder why the CBFC, which uses the blur filter quite judiciously for minutiae in other films, lets chopped body parts and a rolled blunt be exposed in Toxic. The lead character boasts about violence being his ‘mother tongue’ and calls a woman he openly asked for sex a b***h, but women fawn over him. You judge every character in this film and their decisions harshly.
So unlikeable that it’s hard to emphatise
There are exactly two characters in Toxic that make you feel anything for them remotely. Because underneath all the booze, drugs, violence, and general nonsense, Yash and Geetu want you to believe there’s a heart that beats. Ganga and Nadia make you empathise with them, but such moments are far too few in between. The main characters of this film, Raya and his estranged son Ticket (also Yash), have traumatic pasts that define them. But unfortunately, they are so unlikeable that it's hard to feel anything for them. Ticket even generates laughs and is unintentionally funny in scenes that are supposed to tug at your heart.
In conclusion
Yash and Geetu will want you to believe that Toxic is the antithesis of glorifying violent and problematic characters. They want you to believe that this film is about a man who becomes his own undoing. An anti-hero, or an outright villain, who faces the consequences of his actions. But this moment comes after over 3 heroes of babying, coddling and pandering to the whims of a man. Except for one, all the female leads exist to serve his heroism. One or two self-aware moments that show otherwise don’t negate the overall arch. This ‘fairy-tale' is actually a nightmare.
Despite having a Master's degree in Journalism and over a decade of experience in print and digital media as a field reporter and sub-editor at organisations such as The Times of India and Reader's Digest, Neeshita Nyayapati remains a movie buff first and a Chief Content Producer second. She fell in love with movies in childhood and believes nothing matches the magic of watching a good film that moves you with a warm tub of popcorn in hand. Her love for writing about cinema follows that.
Come Friday, you'll find her at her happy place, the movies, catching the latest rom-com or masala offering, for reviews or otherwise. As for the rest of the week, she's here reporting the juiciest news in Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada and Hindi or bringing out the best of celebs in interviews. While her niche is Telugu cinema, Neeshita likes to dabble in a little bit of everything to stay up to date. From film announcements to scandals and hard news angles, she has explored it all.
A good book, a comforting cup of hot chocolate, puppy kisses and a stunning beach view are all she needs to unwind. Her passion for biking and travelling has taken her to various places across the country. She has found peace in everything from the frozen lakes of Gangtok to the coffee plantations of Coorg and the dense forests of Bandipur, to the monasteries of Darjeeling. But no matter where she goes, Neeshita loves coming across inspiring and moving stories.Read More
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