- Yash's film Toxic teaser sparked criticism over portrayal of female characters
- Benedict Garrett responded, favoring sexual content over violence in media
- Toxic teaser features intense scenes with female actors and a violent twist
Last week, Yash's upcoming action thriller Toxic found itself at the centre of an online debate following the release of its latest teaser, Ladies & Ladies. Actor Benedict Garrett, who plays a supporting role in the film, responded to the criticisms in a recent Instagram "Ask Me Anything" session.
What's Happening
- While the promo was intended to spotlight the film's women, it instead sparked criticism from a section of social media users, with many questioning how the female characters - essayed by Nayanthara, Kiara Advani, Huma Qureshi, Tara Sutaria and Rukmini Vasanth - have been portrayed.
- A user asked Benedict Garrett, "Why are people hating the Toxic Ladies & Ladies teaser?"
- He replied, "I have no idea. I can only assume people have more problems seeing sexually related content than they do seeing violence, which, in my opinion, is totally f****d. Give me a world with sex over violence any day."
Breaking Down The New Toxic Teaser
After a tongue-in-cheek disclaimer warning kids and their great-grandparents, the scene transitions to a beach where Yash is seen being lapped by one of the female actors in an intimate shot.
Nayanthara appears on screen riding a bike and shooting down goons. She is followed by Kiara Advani's first look, radiating oomph with red lips. Huma Qureshi, Tara Sutaria and Rukmini Vasanth are introduced as well. They appear to strike a balance between lust and love until Yash dominates the scene.
The ending comes with a twist, in which Yash is seen holding a revolver inside a woman's mouth, implying the adult tone of this actioner.
While the female actors are introduced on screen, a female voiceover narrates about love and the illusions that surround it.
"Love makes monsters of women. It's a beautiful illusion if one understands the depth of its deception. And yet here we are," the narrator says in the background.
The video is captioned with three words: "Ladies and Ladies."
Toxic release delay
The release date of Toxic has been pushed several times. The film will finally arrive in theatres on August 26.
The film was earlier scheduled to release on June 4 after skipping its mega clash with Dhurandhar: The Revenge on March 19.
The makers later issued a statement saying they had pushed back the release date as the Middle East conflict arose.
The statement read, "There are films we make, and then there are films that remind us why we fell in love with cinema. Toxic has been one such journey. Presenting our film at CinemaCon and witnessing the overwhelming global response reaffirmed what we have always believed — that this film deserves to reach its fullest potential worldwide."
"Toxic is complete, and we are currently aligning global distribution and partnerships. In light of this, we have decided to recalibrate our release timeline. While we will not be releasing on June 4 as announced earlier, we will be releasing at a later, globally aligned date. Toxic will come to theatres across the world soon," the statement further read.
"At a time when Indian cinema is finding its voice and stepping onto the global stage with such promise, each of us has a responsibility to raise the bar. As an actor-producer, I see this moment as an opportunity to do my part for the Indian film industry and for all of us by taking the time to ensure our film reaches the world with the impact it is meant to have," Yash wrote.
About Toxic
Toxic: A Fairy Tale for Grown-ups is produced by Venkat K. Narayana and Yash under KVN Productions and Monster Mind Creations. Written and shot in Kannada and English, it will have dubbed versions in Hindi, Telugu, Tamil and Malayalam.
Directed by Geetu Mohandas, the film earlier came under scrutiny over its bold portrayal of sensuality in the teaser.
ALSO READ | Yash's New Toxic Teaser Sparks Mixed Reactions Over Depiction Of Female Characters
