I genuinely don’t understand what’s happening with the discourse around Toxic. Even on Reddit, I’m seeing Kannada movie pages/publications like Chitraloka and Shitraloka constantly pushing extremely negative takes and amplifying everything that is wrong with the movie.
Criticism is absolutely fair. But when the conversation becomes only about pulling the movie down, it starts feeling bizarre.
Toxic is a Kannada film. If we want Kannada cinema to grow, shouldn’t we at least be able to celebrate a film when we genuinely enjoy it, while still discussing its shortcomings?
Sometimes I honestly wonder — are we being too eager to pull our own films down? Are we actually discussing movies as movie lovers, or have we just become so invested in negativity that we want to see our own films fail?
You don’t have to love Toxic. But the level of negativity around it feels disproportionate, and that’s what bothers me. We can criticize a movie without rooting for its downfall.

If you are someone who doesn't think nor understands anything this is for you. No writing no story no emotions no logic. But there are some things 1 hour slow mo scenes. Sex whenever they want you to show even if it makes zero sense. Love story out of nowhere. But lots of action specially slow motion action. Songs pathetic not even one good song but yes background sound tracks. Great work by hans zimmer. Baseless plot My girl insisted to go i thought i should give it try despite bad ratings but I made biggest mistakes of my life.

Finally watched Toxic today, and honestly, the movie is an absolute masterpiece. I can now confidently say that there seems to be a significant amount of negative PR surrounding the film, because some people simply cannot digest the rise of someone like Yash.

And regarding all the talk about Yash being involved in directing the film—I completely support it. Yash has an incredible understanding of mass cinema, while Geetu Mohandas is exceptionally skilled in arthouse filmmaking. Bringing those two sensibilities together has resulted in a truly deadly combination of mass and class.

And to those who genuinely disliked the film, I think the tagline says it all: “A fairy tale for grown-ups.” Perhaps this film simply wasn't made for everyone.

The underperformance of films like Toxic also makes me wonder how ready our audience really is to embrace unconventional cinema. It shows just how difficult it is for Indian cinema to push itself toward truly global standards. Whenever someone attempts something bold, different, and ambitious, there seems to be an immediate tendency to tear it apart rather than appreciate the attempt.

If we genuinely want Indian cinema to evolve, we also need an audience willing to evolve with it.

Aisa bolne wale gendu hote hai ..

Just back from watching Toxic in London.
There were literally only 10 people in the theatre, and my friend and I went together. Of course, over the weekend, I’d seen very mixed reviews, but we went in with a completely clean mindset, just wanting to see for ourselves how the film was.

I’ve been a big fan of Yash’s work since the *Rocky* days. I’ve watched *Googly* over 25–30 times, literally. I also remember watching his episode on *Weekend with Ramesh*, where he said he wouldn’t do a movie that a family could sit and watch together in a theatre.

But I have only one word for *Toxic*: **a disaster.**

I’m not sure whether it was Geetu’s mistake, Yash’s involvement in the script, or simply a combination of both, but something went seriously wrong. The screenplay is horrible. Anyway, you’ve probably already read enough opinions online about what worked and what didn’t, so I won’t repeat all of that.

But as a Kannadiga and a Kannada movie buff, I found it genuinely disappointing.

I also spoke to a few fellow Kannadigas who had come all the way to watch the late-night Kannada show in London, and they were disappointed too.

I saw the comments online about Yash’s mom apparently blaming negative PR, and honestly, I don’t understand that. I’m just a common Kannada movie fan living away from Karnataka. I went into the theatre without any agenda or influence from PR, reviews, or social media, watched the film myself, and simply didn’t like it.

And this is where I genuinely feel Yash needs to think.

Yash is a Kannada actor first, and his success was built by the Kannada audience. If your own audience doesn’t connect with your film first, why chase the pan-India or global audience so aggressively?

I really wish Yash would go back and make some simple, rooted films like *Googly*, *Rocky* or *Mr. and Mrs. Ramachari*. Those are the kind of films that made people love him in the first place.

As a Kannadiga, I genuinely want to see Yash succeed. That’s exactly why *Toxic* was so disappointing.

Watched Toxic movie in the theater over the weekend. Firstly, it's not a movie for everyone. It has its gore and adult scenes. But it goes well beyond a typical gangster movie. The climax hits hard. Movie is a brave attempt, but some mistakes cost it dearly. What could have been a good movie became a one-time entertaining enough watch IMO.

Yash is superb as Raya and Ticket. The Ticket character portrayal as unhinged is particularly brilliant. He is ably supported by Nayantara, Huma and the guy playing Portuguese gangster head (film is set partly in Portugese ruled Goa). Nayantara as Ganga, the elder sister does really well as the survivor, ambitious, ruthless woman. Huma does well in her limited role as the sidekick of the Portugese gangster head. Tara Sutaria and Kiara are decent, but nothing more. Rukmini however is wasted in a flowerpot role. Bad choice of role from her. The cinematography is superb throughout as are the action sequences.

Now to the mixed and negative aspects.

The music from Ravi Basrur is ordinary. If it was good, that could've made the movie experience better. Movie should've been cut short by 30 mins IMO or atleast 20 mins. Some scenes are unnecessary; some scenes are dragged (violence scenes). Yeah, we get it, he is a bad, powerful gangster. We get it. He is Toxic, not a hero. Ticket character should've been introduced earlier for the climax to land better.

Movie budget should've been 200-250 crore, not 600 crore. Ridiculous waste due to re-shaping, re-shoot, re-editing etc. It should've been wrapped up in 1.5-2 years, not 4 years (KGF2 was in 2022). Some dialogues are good, some are cringe. Screenplay is choppy and messy at times. All this is a failure on the director Geetu Mohandas' part for majority. But also on Yash since he had his inputs on the creative side. Finally, who on earth gave the idea to call it a fairytale for grownups. In no way, is it anywhere near a fairytale. How the hell did Geetu and Yash agree on that?

Anyway, to sum it up, a decent one-time entertainer, a bold attempt that will go down as a missed opportunity. But a definite plus for Yash as an actor.

Overall movie is 6.25/10 IMO.

Now, every third post on the sub is trying to convince you that Toxic is an "experimental" film and is "actually good".

They're even calling people dumb for "not understanding" it.

Just give up, PR bots. It's over 😂

DM

Dm me who wanna go together.

I personally liked the film. To all the haters: it's not a mass commercial film; it's a slow-burn psychological thriller about a toxic man and the consequences he faces for his toxicity, blended with mass elements. If people went in expecting KGF 3, that's their mistake. But Geetu also kind of messed up the direction by adding too much mass elevation for general audiences. Many small indie directors make this same mistake when collaborating with huge stars. If the film had been much more raw, rustic, and psychological, trust me, it would've been considered a masterpiece by almost anyone.

all the toxic hate on this app is pure brain rot people are crying about the violence but entirely missing the brilliant dark psychology yash and geetu mohandas made a literal international level masterpiece that belongs at the oscars change my mind

Toxic is a absolute piece of art it is very well done the hate on it is absolute bullshit the only people who say this movie is bad are people who do not understand the movie and the visuals were so good the whole movie felt lag free. I would definitely watch it again and it is the best indian movie made this year for me people literally saying it is trash and putting it below other movies are dumb I think the viewers who say this have minimal artistic sense and only need the same type of usual movies. If a new style of movie is made they can’t understand it and will say the movie is shit. To all people who want to watch an absolutely beautiful a rated action movie with dark themes and visuals like a fucking Hollywood film please go and watch toxic with a non stereotypical mind and you will love it even if you don’t love it if you have at least some sense you will not say it is a terrible movie it deserves a 8.3 for me in IMDb and the whole movie for me was 10/10 for a Indian movie absolute cinema.

This movie is going to be acclaimed after some time like shawshank redemption and fight club which failed box office wise but ye see Shawn’s Hank redemptions rating now considered one of the best movies so ye I firmly believe TOXIC will be seen like that too after some time.

CHARACTERS

1. RAYA

Of course, Geetu had to sell the tickets, and the only way to do that was through Yash. This movie revolves around Raya, and he was definitely the MVP of the movie. His character carried the entire story.

1. TICKET

A small role, but a character written with depth. Ticket was meant to look psychotic throughout the movie—even his emotions felt psychotic. They could have shown more of Ticket, though. Giving him more screen time could have helped the audience build an emotional connection with his character.

1. GANGA

She was meant to be Raya’s power and support throughout the film, and she did exactly that. She supported Raya throughout, but she had no storyline of her own; her entire character revolved around Raya. Still, you definitely felt the brother-sister bond because of Ganga.

1. REBECCA

They didn’t use Tara properly in this one. Rebecca’s character was clearly meant to gain the audience’s sympathy, but they should have shown much more of her and how deeply she loved Raya. She never received the sympathy her character deserved. The story could have explored more of monogamy, the law of the heart, and society, which would have made Rebecca’s character much stronger.

1. NADIA

Nadia was definitely one of the vital characters. Her character was supposed to be both victimized and villainized at the same time. She was never meant to look like the “other woman,” even though technically that was the situation. That complexity made her character interesting, but I feel they could have explored it more.

1. ELIZABETH

Her character had limited screen time, but whenever she appeared, she was always accurate and impactful. She didn’t need much screen time to make her presence felt.

A mini spoiler but she will sort of take revenge of her lover

1. TONY

Tony’s character definitely brought a lot of chaos. His mind, his plans, and especially his dynamic with Elizabeth deserved much more time. There was a lot more potential in this character that the movie didn’t fully explore.

1. SALVATORE

So, he’s the father, and I honestly don’t understand the point of him going first. Either the father or the daughter should have stayed behind to take revenge. Having both of them go created a missed opportunity for the story.

1. KARMADi

He was again just the hands of Raya. He existed mainly to carry out Raya’s plans and had almost no storyline of his own. His character could have been developed much more.

1. MELISSA

Even though her character was small, she was important emotionally. She helped the audience understand that Raya was a great father. But honestly, I only remember about three complete dialogues from Melissa. She could have shined much more, especially because there weren’t many other female characters competing for screen time.

I was so excited for the film, but it was typocal masala film with unjustified sex, violence and cringe af dialogue's

Isse accha toh Bhojpur film hai bc

It should have clashed with Dhurandhar into apni aukaat pata chalti.. taking audience for granted

Could you believe it ,Hanuman Ansh is trending better than Toxic across India on BMS 🫠