Toxic: A Fairy Tale for Grown Ups

Written and directed by Geetu Mohandas, with Yash at the centre, Toxic clearly comes from a place of ambition and vision. There’s a fascinating psychological concept underneath it all, and the staging of the climax shows just how much thought has gone into the film’s larger idea. But then comes the question: what happened to the movie? Honestly, Toxic often feels like a star vehicle built around hero glorification. Cigarettes, sex, attitude, slow-motion elevations — yes, all of that can be part of a film. It can even be glorified when it serves the story. But when these elements keep coming throughout the movie, they eventually become repetitive, tedious and tiresome. The biggest strength of the film is undoubtedly its technical craft. The visuals are brilliant. The VFX is impressive. There are no major complaints on that front. The actors who played the younger versions of the characters have also performed exceptionally well. But the music? For a film of this scale and atmosphere, the music should have elevated the experience. Unfortunately, it hardly worked for me. Ravi Basrur cannot produce KGF music every time. The score needed to be something more distinctive for this world. Yash, of course, has the stature and charisma to carry a film like this. Actors of his scale have already demonstrated that they can bring massive numbers to the industry and create a pan-India phenomenon. But beyond the star aura, there is also an actor there who is capable of delivering a genuinely excellent performance. Toxic does give him moments to explore that side. Surprisingly, Nayanthara gets very good screen time, and Kudos to Kiara Advani for pulling off a challenging role with conviction. Rukmini, however, left me wondering about the purpose of some of the casting and character choices. I wasn’t entirely convinced by how much of the film was built around its female characters. Having said all that, I don’t think Toxic deserves the kind of complete bashing it has received on the internet. It is definitely not a bad film. There are layers here. A lot of them, actually. I genuinely feel this could be one of those films that might reveal more on a second or third viewing. It works in parts, and some of its ideas are genuinely fascinating. My disappointment comes from the fact that this could have been a great film. With this kind of hype, budget, ambition and talent, the film had the potential to become something far more memorable. The vision is enormous. The attempt itself deserves respect. Taking such an ambitious idea and actually bringing it onto the screen is a huge achievement. And kudos to Yash and Geetu Mohandas for having the courage to attempt something this audacious. But ambition alone doesn’t make a great film. A great concept needs a great screenplay. That is where Malayalam cinema often excels — taking complex ideas and giving them a granular, layered, emotionally accessible screenplay. Toxic has the concepts, the ambition and the technical brilliance, but the writing doesn’t always match the scale of the vision. There are simply too many areas that needed more attention, more restraint and more unwinding. This could have been told in a much simpler, sharper and more powerful way. Because ultimately, greater concepts need granular vision. Toxic has the vision. I just wish the screenplay had matched it.