Toxic teaser backlash 'reveals cultural hypocrisy', says Anurag Kashyap: 'No one questions male actors going shirtless'

Anurag Kashyap has defended the teaser of Yash's Toxic after it received backlash over a graphic sex scene.

Anurag Kashyap has defended Yash’s upcoming film, Toxic, weeks after its first look teaser faced backlash for a graphic sex scene. The filmmaker has said the backlash revealed the society’s ‘cultural hypocrisy’ and said that male actors go shirtless all the time, but nobody bats an eyelid.

Anurag Kashyap has defended Yash's film Toxic amid backlash over its teaser.

Anurag Kashyap defends Toxic teaser

Anurag appeared at the 17th Bengaluru International Film Festival, where he spoke about cinema, politics, and technology in a session titled 'Fearless Film Making', moderated by film critic Baradwaj Rangan. Here, Anurag talked about the backlash Toxic teaser received. Praising the film as ‘an extremely courageous attempt’, the filmmaker said, “The outrage expressed against the teaser reveals our cultural hypocrisy. When male actors appear shirtless on screen or display excessive machismo, no one questions it. But when a woman celebrates her sexuality, it becomes hard to accept.”

The backlash to Toxic teaser

The teaser of Toxic introduced Yash’s character as he went on a rampage in a cemetery. But before that, scenes showed a graphic sex scene in a van between the protagonist and an unnamed female actor. Many online said the scene was unnecessary and criticised the makers for pandering to the male gaze. The female actor in the teaser, Beatriz Taufenbach, was forced to delete her social media following the backlash. The Women's Commission also criticised the teaser.

All about Toxic

Toxic is directed by Geetu Mohandas. The film, written by Yash and Geetu, has been filmed in both Kannada and English. The film, billed as a pan-India release, also stars Nayanthara, Kiara Advani, Huma Qureshi, Tara Sutaria, and Rukmini Vasanth. It will release in theatres on March 19, when it clashes with Ranveer Singh’s heavily anticipated Dhurandhar 2.