{"id":453162,"date":"2026-05-17T07:55:08","date_gmt":"2026-05-17T07:55:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/453162\/"},"modified":"2026-05-17T07:55:08","modified_gmt":"2026-05-17T07:55:08","slug":"yash-on-toxic-and-indian-cinemas-global-push","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/453162\/","title":{"rendered":"Yash on ‘Toxic’ and Indian Cinema’s Global Push"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tFour years after \u201cK.G.F: Chapter 2\u201d redefined box office benchmarks across India, Yash<\/a> is preparing to unveil his next project on a scale that extends far beyond familiar territory. <\/p>\n

\n\tThe Indian actor-producer-writer reflects on a creative journey that prioritizes artistic challenge over commercial formula, positioning \u201cToxic: A Fairytale for Grown-Ups\u201d as a deliberate step toward dismantling barriers that have historically confined Indian cinema to regional and diaspora audiences.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe decision to pursue \u201cToxic\u201d emerged not from post-\u201cK.G.F\u201d momentum, but from resistance to it. \u201cI heard a lot of things which kind of felt like it\u2019s falling into formula or maybe somewhere it also looked like you\u2019re just trying to encash on the success,\u201d Yash says. \u201cFrom the beginning in my life, I\u2019ve just gone for something where I have to really think how do we do it. And that gives me high, and that gives me energy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tYash had been considering a larger concept when director Geethu Mohandas approached him. The alignment between his vision and her idea, combined with her creative energy, sparked the collaboration. What began as that meeting of minds developed into a narrative that, while carrying the visual markers of a gangster film, operates within deeper thematic territory. \u201cOn the face of it, it might look like a gangster film with all the commercial things, but it\u2019s so nuanced because there is so much of moral ambiguity or raw emotions or dark side of human or certain topics which as an artist or at this point in my life, I would like to explore those kind of things on celluloid,\u201d he explains.<\/p>\n

\n\tMohandas is known for intimate character studies like Sundance title \u201cLiar\u2019s Dice\u201d and Toronto selection \u201cMoothon,\u201d and \u201cToxic\u201d represents a significant expansion in scale for the filmmaker. For Yash, that shift poses no concern. \u201cWhatever scale and all is not the primary aspect which I look into when we do a film. I think story is important,\u201d he says. \u201cI believe in people. I believe in talent. I believe when they want to do it, if the scale is something which they have never done, it doesn\u2019t mean they cannot do. The intent is very pure. The storytelling at its core is about human emotions or relationships and all the power dynamics between people in any profession.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe production\u2019s scale supports that intent rather than replacing it. Production designer T.P. Abid\u2019s work creates a fictionalized version of Goa during the transitional period between Indian independence in 1947 and Goa\u2019s integration in 1961, when Portuguese rule persisted. The setting allowed for casting that serves narrative authenticity rather than marketing strategy. \u201cWe have cast some actors keeping those things in mind, but nothing to do for the sake of like people cast Indian actors or Chinese actors to break through their market,\u201d Yash notes. \u201cI don\u2019t believe in that because sometimes the idea itself should drive it, not you have a story and then try to put it in a sense of marketing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tAmong the ensemble is Darrell D\u2019Silva, a U.K. theater actor. The cast also includes Nayanthara, Kiara Advani, Huma Qureshi, Rukmini Vasanth and Tara Sutaria in what Yash describes as roles built around power dynamics that extend beyond conventional gender frameworks. \u201cThere\u2019s a different set of politics, a different kind of violence involved with every human being,\u201d he says. \u201cWe have some female characters who are really badass women who have taken responsibility about their lives and who survive in any situations.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tWorking with a female director fundamentally altered the material\u2019s perspective. \u201cWe [men] see life differently. We see things differently,\u201d Yash observes. \u201cThere is always a different point of view when women looks at things. We miss out on a lot of emotions or a lot of things. Maybe it doesn\u2019t matter to us. What matters to us may not be the thing which they\u2019ll be focusing in an incident or a situation. So that perspective becomes so refreshing, and it\u2019s so layered, and it\u2019s so deep.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe action choreography brings its own global credentials through J.J. Perry, the Hollywood stunt coordinator behind \u201cJohn Wick\u201d and \u201cFast & Furious,\u201d who broke with his typical practice of assembling international teams to work exclusively with Indian stunt performers on \u201cToxic.\u201d Perry spent 45 days during Mumbai\u2019s monsoon season mounting what he described as action sequences designed to be \u201cimmersive, visceral, and new to Indian cinema.\u201d VFX house DNEG is handling visual effects for both \u201cToxic\u201d and Yash\u2019s \u201cRamayana<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe production was shot simultaneously in Kannada and English, with English-language performance presenting specific challenges around dialogue delivery. \u201cYou can speak in English, but when you perform in English, it has to be very organic, and it should look like yes, they do converse in English, not like force trying to make it like a stage show or a play,\u201d Yash explains. \u201cThis is a film which is based or rooted in the emotions of Indian culture, but as a core of the filmmaking process, as a craft, it is very global, truly international.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThat international positioning carries strategic implications that diverge sharply from typical Indian release patterns. Where marketing usually begins during production in India, \u201cToxic\u201d follows a model closer to Hollywood practice: complete the film first, then build distribution partnerships. \u201cRight now I\u2019ve taken a decision of taking my time and releasing this film,\u201d Yash acknowledges. \u201cThat is really something my fans or people in India will not like. They\u2019ll be upset because culturally you\u2019re used to like once you start shooting the film, there is a timeline in their head. And unfortunately, marketing happens even if you don\u2019t want to. The moment we start shooting, people start writing about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe delay serves a specific purpose. Western distribution requires finished product for acquisition decisions, creating a structural mismatch with Indian production timelines where financial investment concentrates in final stages. \u201cIn the West everything starts when you finish the film,\u201d he notes. \u201cIf somebody wants to buy the film or if somebody wants to be part of the film, they want to see the film because huge money is involved. Those are the things which is a challenge, but I think I have faith in my people, so they understand what we are trying to do is something what we all should do.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThis patience extends to franchise considerations. While \u201cK.G.F: Chapter 3\u201d remains an anticipated project, Yash resists treating intellectual property as pure monetization opportunity. \u201cEverybody is waiting for \u2018K.G.F: Chapter 3.\u2019 But we\u2019ll do it when it\u2019s time, when it\u2019s right,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s not just about exploiting the IP where people are ready. Somewhere it is important when people are excited, people want to watch it, but until unless we feel that this is the right thing to do, this is the right story and it fits, the franchise for the sake of monetization or just because you know the name works is never a goal.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tBalancing roles as writer, producer and star requires constant compartmentalization. \u201cWhen you\u2019re writing, you should not think of a producer when you\u2019re writing on paper,\u201d he explains. \u201cBut when you write on paper, next point is you should think as a producer \u2013 how much of this thing it takes, what are the logistics, how much sense it makes in terms of business. By the end of the day, a lot of people depend on cinema. It\u2019s a profession. And then when I come on screen, when I\u2019m performing, I actually only think about what a writer is trying to say or director is trying to say through that scene.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tBeyond \u201cToxic,\u201d Yash is starring in and producing a new version of ancient Indian epic \u201cRamayana\u201d with Namit Malhotra\u2019s Prime Focus Studios, positioning both projects as contributions toward global platform building for Indian storytelling. \u201cThese are two different routes we are taking to reach the same destination,\u201d he says. \u201cBoth me and Namit came together for the sole purpose of putting our Indian craft or our stories on a global platform. What can we do being here when people have given us so much love and support? We think that, okay, it\u2019s a huge responsibility and stay away from it or get scared, or take that responsibility and be responsible.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tFor \u201cRamayana,\u201d that responsibility involves balancing cultural reverence with technological spectacle. \u201c\u2018Ramayana\u2019 can be done. It\u2019s been done many times in this country or even you go to a smallest village, they have their own depiction of \u2018Ramayana,’\u201d Yash notes. \u201cAt the core, \u2018Ramayana\u2019 is something which we all know since our childhood. But with the technology, with the spectacles what we imagine about those scenes, if it can be brought on screen and offer it to the world, so they will hopefully find the truest form of that story and the spectacles blended in such a way where they go mesmerized.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe parallel pursuits reflect a broader philosophy that rejects artificial distinctions between commercial and experimental storytelling. \u201cI don\u2019t get this concept of why can\u2019t we experiment in large scale,\u201d he says. \u201cWhen you have to tell a story in a certain manner, we should not be in a position where we say we can\u2019t do it because the market is not letting us. So let\u2019s clean the market, let\u2019s get the market, let\u2019s do things where there is no restriction.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe challenge, as Yash sees it, lies less with audience appetite than with structural impediments. \u201cIt is not the audience, it\u2019s the system which is difficult to break through,\u201d he argues. \u201cA lot of money is involved in it. Time is the issue. There is a fundamental difference between how we release our films and they [the West] release their films. Their films are finished, locked, and then they go into marketing for six months or planned in such a way that you have a lot of time and you decide the release date much in advance. What we do is because the financials doesn\u2019t work in India, we invest a lot of things in the last minute.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe path forward requires creating successful precedents that establish new models. \u201cLet\u2019s be very clear about things in life in cinema \u2013 people only follow when there is a successful model,\u201d he says. \u201cSomebody has to do that. I think hopefully we\u2019re going to do it. Everybody\u2019s trying towards the same goal, but hopefully we\u2019ll be able to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThat ambition, however, stops short of pursuing Hollywood career trajectories in the conventional sense. \u201cMy idea is to tell our stories and our strength,\u201d Yash emphasizes. \u201cWhy not if there is a nice thing where I feel I\u2019m being taken or being part of the film because I am needed, not because I\u2019m an Indian? You understand there is a difference, a vast difference. More or less, I think my idea is to represent, our country with pride or represent our craft, and show it to the world. That\u2019s more exciting for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tWritten by Yash and Geetu Mohandas and directed by Mohandas, \u201cToxic: A Fairytale for Grown-Ups\u201d is produced by Venkat K. Narayana and Yash through KVN Productions and Monster Mind Creations. The film will release in English, Kannada and multiple Indian language versions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Four years after \u201cK.G.F: Chapter 2\u201d redefined box office benchmarks across India, Yash is preparing to unveil his…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":453163,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[10532,188845,321,93,61,60,35799,144706,63526],"class_list":["post-453162","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-celebrities","tag-cannes-film-festival","tag-cannes-film-market","tag-celebrities","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-ramayana","tag-toxic-a-fairy-tale-for-grown-ups","tag-yash"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/453162","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=453162"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/453162\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/453163"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=453162"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=453162"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=453162"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}