'Every Time A Big Film Starts': Yash On Toxic Being Called Shelved

Dubai: Toxic has been the subject of collapse rumours for most of its production. Reports of the film being halted, stalled or abandoned have surfaced repeatedly since shooting began.

At the trailer launch in Bengaluru on Saturday, Yash addressed them directly for the first time, and did not particularly hide his irritation.

There was also a detail in his answer that nobody seems to have picked up. The event fell on 8 August. Shooting began on 8 August, two years earlier, to the day.

What he said

He started with the pattern rather than his own film.

"Nowadays, I see this a lot. Every time a big film starts, there'll be news of it being shelved on the 10th day or 20th day," he said. "I don't know from where they write these stories."

"It's not easy for producers or actors or directors. First of all, making a film is like going to war against the whole world."

He went on to explain why large productions genuinely do stall, without conceding that this one had. "After all, you don't know what the mood of the actor would be that day or whether they would have sufficient dates. There'll be so many issues."

"We have shot for 200 days. We started on August 8 two years ago," he said. "We have shot two versions with all these talented and lovely actors. They have given their time and everything. They were so dedicated."

Two hundred shooting days is enormous by any standard. Two full versions with an ensemble this size is more unusual still, and reflects the fact that Toxic was made in both Kannada and English rather than dubbed from one into the other.

Which may be the actual explanation for the rumours. A production running two years with a cast including Nayanthara, Kiara Advani, Huma Qureshi, Tara Sutaria and Rukmini Vasanth, shot twice, is going to have gaps in its schedule that look from the outside like a film in trouble.

On the producer

Yash reserved his warmest words for Venkat K. Narayana of KVN Productions, who produced alongside Yash's own Monster Mind Creations.

"Yet, my partner and producer has never questioned us," he said.

And on the speculation itself: "So all the rumours used to surface. This man stood like a rock. You can see that every money we have spent can be seen on screen."

That last claim is one the trailer supports. Reported budgets range from ₹600 crore to ₹800 crore, and Toxic is expected to become the most expensive Indian film ever made.

Who was there

The Bengaluru event drew most of the cast: Nayanthara, Kiara Advani, Tara Sutaria, Huma Qureshi, Rukmini Vasanth, Akshay Oberoi, Balaji Manohar and Sudev Nair.

Director Geetu Mohandas attended, along with Narayana, distributor Anil Thadani, and Yash's wife Radhika Pandit, whom Nayanthara singled out in her own speech for the years the family had given up to the film.

Toxic: A Fairy Tale for Grown-Ups reaches cinemas on 26 August, in Kannada and English with dubbed versions in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam.

It is Yash's first release since KGF: Chapter 2 in 2022, which is four years.