New Delhi: Kannada star Yash’s upcoming film Toxic: A Fairy Tale for Grown Ups has landed in trouble after the release of its teaser. On 12 January, the Aam Aadmi Party’s Women’s Wing submitted a formal complaint to the Karnataka State Women’s Commission over the obscene visuals in the film’s teaser.
The film, directed by Geetu Mohandas, has been in the making since 2023. It stars Nayanthara and Kiara Advani, Rukmini Vasanth, and Huma Qureshi. The teaser of the film was released on 8 January, on Yash’s birthday. The teaser introduces Yash’s character in a rather peculiar setting. The actor is shown having sex with a woman inside a black car parked outside a graveyard. The rhythmic movement of the vehicle is also triggering a bomb planted nearby.
The scene immediately led to a social media debate, with many objecting to the way the woman had been portrayed.
“The car scene at the beginning of the movie is unacceptable, not just for me, but for many others like me,” wrote one user on Yash’s Instagram page.
This has now led the AAP state secretary, Usha Mohan, to take cognizance and write a letter to the Women’s Commission.
Mohan wrote that the teaser contains “obscene and explicit” content that could harm the “social well-being of women and children”. She also added that the scenes were released in the public domain without any age-related warning, and “degrade the dignity of women” and “insult Kannada culture.”
It urged the commission to intervene and direct the state government authorities to ban the teaser and remove it from social media platforms.
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Toxic teaser outrage
Social activist Dinesh Kallahalli has also lodged a complaint with the Censor Board of Film Certification (CBFC) over the adult content in the teaser. The KGF actor is also one of the producers of Toxic.
“Since teasers and trailers do not get censored, unless they are being shown in theatres or on television, makers have the freedom of adding content that can create controversy or get viral. It is a strategy, and something Toxic is doing too. How the film fares, despite the complaints. Will only be clear after its release,” said senior film critic GV Ramana.
Raman also added that social media in Karnataka has erupted with memes of an earlier interview of Yash, where he mentioned only making films that he can watch with his own family. The scene in the teaser has also created an impact because its director is a woman.
Mohandas, however, has been seemingly unbothered by the outrage against the teaser. The actor-director shared a joint Instagram post with actor Rima Kallingal, which read “Chilling while people figure out female pleasure, consent, women playing systems, etc, etc.”
Toxic is produced by KVN Productions, which is also facing legal hurdles with Thalapathy Vijay’s farewell film, Jana Nayagan. The production company moved the Supreme Court on 12 January, challenging the Madras High Court division bench order that stayed a single judge’s direction to grant the film a UA certificate.