Nayanthara reveals how Yash spent 4.5 years of his life making Toxic: ‘Sacrificed time with family’
She Yash's commitment to the gangster drama and thanked his family for their support
Dubai: Nayanthara does not usually turn up to these things, and said so from the stage.
She made an exception on Saturday in Bengaluru for the trailer launch of Toxic: A Fairy Tale for Grown-Ups, and spent most of her speech talking about everyone except herself.
"It's not that I don't want to attend promotional events, it's just that I am not very good at it," she said. "I stay away from it, but this was special. Yash just made a call, and it was enough for me to attend the event."
She nearly said no to the movie
She shared how close she came to turning the film down.
"Geetu and I have had a long and beautiful journey. We have acted in a film together, maybe 20 years ago. That was a different Geetu," she said. "When she called me for this film, I wasn't so sure because there are a lot of actors in the film, and usually I am a little careful or apprehensive about choosing a film where there are a lot of actors."
Her first answer was no. "I said I don't think I want to do this film. She asked me several times. So I asked her to come and narrate it to me. From that moment, I wondered who is this director that we have not seen."
Then the line the makers will be putting on posters. "You have seen the trailer, but the film is going to blow your mind."
On Mohandas herself she was warmer still. "The way you took care of each and every actor, and gave love when everyone needed you. All actors have had their tough moments and she was there holding their hands, walking with them, doing the best she could."
Four and a half years
Yash, whom she called Rocky Bhai, took up the largest part of the speech.
"I have worked with a lot of superstars and actors, everyone is big and cool," she said. "With Yash, when I met him for the first time, the larger-than-life image he has is the same in person."
Then the detail that has travelled furthest from the event. "I have never ever seen a more hardworking actor than him. This man gave four and a half years of his life. He sacrificed his time with his family, his kids. He was just bothered about work."
She added something less commonly said about a leading man. "I have never seen an actor take care of the director the way he did."
And then she named the person nobody else had. "I also want to mention Radhika. Everyone talks about the cast and crew, but no one talks about the sacrifices of the family. She has been Yash's biggest strength."
The cast
Rukmini Vasanth got pride in her recent run, Tara Sutaria was called a cute princess, and Huma Qureshi got the friendship. "On sets, I made a friend. Huma and I spoke the most because we had the most combinations."
The strongest words went to Kiara Advani. "Kiara, this is one of the best films you have done in your entire career. There is a Kiara before, and there will be a Kiara after Toxic."
Advani, who plays Nadia, returned the formulation. "I truly believe that Geetu and Yash manifested for me to be Nadia in this film," she said. "They saw it in me and believed I was capable of this, much before I knew I was ready to take that fearless leap as an actor. There will be a Kiara before Toxic and one after Toxic."
About the film
Toxic is a period gangster drama set in Goa between the 1940s and 1970s, following the rise of a drug cartel as Portuguese rule collapses. Yash plays a double role, Raya and Rumi. Nayanthara plays Ganga.
Geetu Mohandas, who made Liar's Dice and Moothon, directs and co-wrote it with Yash. It has been shot in Kannada and English, with dubs in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam, and is Yash's first major theatrical release since KGF: Chapter 2.
It reaches cinemas on 26 August.
