Shot simultaneously in Kannada and English, Toxic is designed for a global audience, with dubbed versions planned in multiple Indian languages.
Published Jan 09, 2026 | 4:25 PM ⚊ Updated Jan 09, 2026 | 4:25 PM
'Toxic' to release on 19 March 2026. (X)
A teaser from the upcoming pan-Indian film Toxic: A Fairy Tale for Grown Ups has triggered a fresh cultural debate in Kerala, placing its director Geethu Mohandas at the centre of an intense online discussion.
The film, starring Kannada superstar Yash, marks his return to the big screen four years after KGF: Chapter 2.
Shot simultaneously in Kannada and English, Toxic is designed for a global audience, with dubbed versions planned in multiple Indian languages.
The controversy revolves around the teaser’s introduction of Yash’s character, Raya, which includes an explicit sequence followed by stylised action shots.
While some viewers praised the slick visuals and bold tone, others accused the film of glorifying objectification—sparking allegations of hypocrisy against Mohandas.
Critics pointed to the director’s past association with the Women in Cinema Collective (WCC) and her vocal support for actress Parvathy Thiruvothu, who in 2017 publicly criticised a misogynistic scene in Mammootty’s Kasaba.
That episode had led to severe cyber bullying against Parvathy and was widely believed to have affected her career in Malayalam cinema.
Against this backdrop, many questioned how Mohandas could now helm a film featuring what they perceived as similarly problematic imagery.
However, Mohandas also found strong backing from fellow artists, including actors Reema Kallingal and Divya Prabha.
Geetu Mohandas’s social media post. (Supplied)
Adding fuel to the debate, Mohandas reshared a poster circulated by Reema, stating: “Chilling while people figure out female pleasure, consent, women.”
Meanwhile, filmmaker Nithin Renji Panicker entered the conversation through an Instagram story quoting writer Zakaria.
Without naming Mohandas, he alluded to double standards in condemning “mass films” in Malayalam while embracing similar elements when working in big-budget industries elsewhere.
As Toxic builds anticipation ahead of its release, the debate continues—raising deeper questions about feminism, artistic context, and selective outrage.
(With inputs from Dileep V Kumar)
