- Date of Release: 26 August 2026
- Genre: Action, Crime, Drama, Romance, Thriller
- Language: Kannada
- Watch On: Theatres Only
Toxic
Introduction
It is not everyday that I look around during a movie, just to confirm my reactions (and fears) that are playing out onscreen. But I did break my rule with the new Kannada film Toxic that ended up being The Godfather of Randomness. It is also not everyday that your mind is in overdrive mode with the amount of exposition dumped on the viewers, so much so that the entire film felt like a 10 mark Fill In The Blanks question – the one wherein the context is not provided, just some random scenes of gunfights and bullets sprayed on random people who die even before they are comprehended upon. Picture this – the protagonist Raya (Yash) is on his first date with his lady love Nadia (Kiara Advani) at a local bar, only for a group of armed nuns to enter the arena, and later take off their clothes to reveal their identities of being mercenaries. At this point, the writing doesn’t offer you with any explanation on who these girls are, with the only focus being on the leading man eliminating them with his ‘c*ck’….errr… gun. And the drama is sprinkled with such mindless moments that wish to aura farm the narcissistic quality of the protagonist.
Story & Screenplay
Written by Yash and Geethu Mohandas, I would be lying if I would tell you that the cold open of Toxic wasn’t engaging. In a scene wherein you spot a trauma and grief-ridden Nadia tell her son on how daddy is waiting for him, only for the sequence to end in a tragedy – the undercurrents of chills definitely engulfed me for a brief moment. But from that point, the drama inexplicably plays catch up – almost like a batting order collapse after a flourishing start in the first over. If I were to dissect its narrative pattern, then Toxic literally felt like 3 films put in one wherein the writing does justice to neither!
In its initial timeline, the year is 1947 but the place is Goa that still hasn’t got independence from the Portuguese – only for the protagonist to enter the arena, and keep eliminating gang members at the drop of a hat. If Christopher Columbus was on vacation in Goa, he would have been massacred too; luckily his Goa plan was cancelled years ago. The motive is clear – to put his vengeful past aside involving his hatred for women apart from his sister Ganga (Nayanthara), while aspiring to be the kingpin of the opium trade in the region having its roots to Macau. In between what you witness is an army of extras being shot at and killed, even as the protagonist steps up as the right hand man of a local gangster, while having dual affairs with the gangster’s daughter Rebecca (Tara Sutaria) and the owner of the circus, Nadia, much to the dismay of the aspiring and scheming mistress of the gangster Elizabeth (Huma Qureshi). The latter is far from the first coach of the Indian Cricket team in Lagaan (2001), but more aligned with wanting to take the place of ‘Bhuvan’ in the cartel world.
It is such a pity that the narcissistic trait of the protagonist has its say on the characterization of women too – most of whom are mercilessly f**ked (much like the viewers watching the film), and literally have little to no say apart from catering to his physical needs and his man-child traits of having to take care of his tracks, while he aura farms his way to violence. Take Ganga who had to sell herself in order to feed him as a child, or Rebecca who is just meant to be his physical love interest, or even Elizabeth whose angle of vengeance revolves around him.
It is only Nadia in brief moments that stands her ground, slapping him if he crosses the line, or reminding him to make her feel like a lover when they get intimate – before succumbing to his ‘toxic’ traits. In a latter timeline, even Mellisa (Rukmini Vasanth) feels like a derivative character from the ladies of this world – who are meant to be silenced off in a male dominated world. So much for patriarchy, except that that is also without its share of context here – much like the real world today! If this was set in North India, the film would probably have been called ‘Ladies Vs Raya Behl’.
It is laughable on how the narrative structure goes from a gangster drama in the first act to a romantic action drama in the second act, only to later transition into a father-son face-off – a nod to a film like Mahaan (2022), whilst having the soul of a film like Animal (2023). The amount of the word ‘Daddy’ that I heard would put Alia Bhatt’s word ‘Shiva’ from Brahmastra (2022) to shame – the iterations of which form an endless loop in the narrative. And this is particularly preposterous given that the writing had nothing really to say – apart from the body counts that rise for the protagonist, both attributed to his ‘pistol’, on and off the ‘field’.
It almost saddened me given that the final act of the drama actually showcased some spark, even though the ‘twist’ doesn’t work in hindsight. But it atleast showed a brief glimpse of what the film could have been – if the focus wasn’t on bodies being pumped with metal bullets, or the ridiculous antics of the protagonist involving having s*x in a car only to trigger a blast at a graveyard, or the mindless subplots that unfold without a single context. Nope, this wasn’t a fairytale for grown-ups afterall, it was A Nightmare On Elm Street…errr On the streets of Goa, a place that was privy to snowfall in the film, while doubling up as its ‘S*x’ capital too. Genius writing I’d tell you – but who named it Toxic, and not S*x And The City? This, while I wondered why I was watching a 3 hour trailer in the name of watching a ‘movie’.
Dialogues, Music & Direction
The dialogues are so rhyming and filled with analogies that I literally felt that the last name of the protagonist was Gulzar, but written by Nolan S*mji. Lines are not only awkward but also filled with crass, that made me cringe to the core. Lines like ‘Jab Tak Mujhe Seh Sakte Ho, Tab Tak Reh Sakte Ho’ felt like a warning sign for viewers like me, who were invariably sucked into the Toxic world. In hindsight, I can’t complain that I wasn’t warned! The music is decent but none of the songs make for an impact because the situations around those songs aren’t created to have any sort of emotions in the mix. The BGM fairs relatively better, doing its bit to elevate the aura farming and narcissistic traits of the protagonist to fairly good effect.
The cinematography comprises of frames that reek of style – be it the noir undertones that engulfs the setting. Or even a scene involving a ferris wheel being set on fire, would often come across as grand. But the issue lies in its micro moments, wherein the frames fail to ignite any set of emotions – almost showcasing soulless moments of love and violence in equal measures.
The biggest issue that I had was with the wieful editing pattern that not only isolates every incident, but also extends this woeful trait to every scene, and every moment. Be it the random cutaways in moments of brutality, or a spree of randomness in displaying moments without context, or even abrupting stalling a fight sequence with a black screen – the flaws are evident and significantly embarrassing. At one legit moment of a scene paused by a black screen, I did think that the film did opt for a Hollywood style of an interval – only for the action to switch locations in a totally different scene. Woefully pathetic and amateurish, in as many words!
This doesn’t seem like a Geethu Mohandas film – a filmmaker who has brought to us gems like Moothon (2019). I just can’t prove that the film may be actually ghost directed by its leading man, because nothing held my attention – neither the patchy world building that wished to keep shifting goal posts, nor the characters, most of which catered to the whims and fancies of the protagonist without having an identity of their own. The direction is way below par, largely poor and completely stripped off any emotions in the narrative, so much so that I found myself fidgeting in my seat at regular junctures in the narrative. No, this can’t be considered as art – it is nothing short of being an embarrassment.
Performances
The performances are woefully average by the members of the ensemble. If talented actors like Akshay Oberoi, Benedict Garrett, Sanjeeda Sheikh and Sudev Nair are reduced to mere character sketches while having nothing meaty to do, then you do know that the drama spells doom! Darrell D’Silva as Salvador is hardly intimidating, and most of it was due to the way his character was written and briefed. Tara Sutaria as Rebecca hams her way through her character, mostly offering a one-dimensional tone to her performance. Rukmini Vasanth as Mellisa will go down as the most random act in her filmography, given how her character has no real context to the story.
Huma Qureshi as Elizabeth threatens to be intimidating and eccentric with her mannerisms, but she is affected by a woefully low screentime. Nayanthara as Ganga wishes to mount her performance on blank stares that does her no favour in extracting any emotions towards her character. Kiara Advani as Nadia shines in her opening act, but remains woefully inconsistent with her act going forward, stemming from the fact that the writing probably doesn’t know how to take her character forward, without having to show streaks of complexity. And if a 9 year old kid named Krishiv Jindal manages to score, and be the best actor in the film (he was genuinely brilliant) – then you do know that the performances have failed to have an impact.
This brings me to the curious case of Yash who is seemingly suffering from the KGF hangover. There was a flair of Rocky bhai in his act as Raya – an unapologetically narcissistic gangster who might be a part-time poet (given his analogies). While he is decent, the narrative pattern doesn’t allow him to pause and showcase an emotional core. In a sharp contrast as Ticket, there is a streak of eccentricity that he taps into – something that reminded me of the act from a famous Tamil film (can’t reveal its name, as it may act as a spoiler). But even in the context of his twin performances, Yash felt like a derivative version in each of the two cases – something that doesn’t necessarily amount to being bad, but more in lines with lacking any novelty. The aura farming is fine, but where are the emotions? In the finale maybe, but too little too late!
Conclusion
Toxic is a masterpiece of pure randomness, sprinting through mindless action tropes with absolutely zero context. Crowned as the undisputed “The Godfather of Randomness,” it serves up flattened execution topped with shockingly amateur editing. Since our hero is involved with an entire assembly of women, we might as well retitle it – Ladies Vs Raya Behl. Either way, watching this woefully silly chaotic mess feels exactly like witnessing a bizarre YouTube video at 2x speed. Honestly, it completely massacred my last remaining brain cells with the same reckless abandon it used to f**k and slaughter its own characters from the film! I guess I’ll rest my case….and my brain cells now! Available in a theatre near you.