Toxic: Yash's swag is not enough for a 194-minute long film that totally tests your patience

Directed With a grand scale and swagger, the film delves into Raya’s (Yash) complicated personal and professional journey as he navigates his way through a whirlwind affair with Nadia (Kiara Advani), a travelling circus performer, and a tumultuous relationship with Rebecca (Tara Sutaria), the kingpin's sister.

The film’s biggest strength is its cinematography, which gives Toxic a visual scale. The first half of the movie takes time building momentum, and that slow-burn approach can test one’s patience. However, the pacing issues become apparent as the story hurtles towards its conclusion.

For related coverage, explore our detailed analysis on Technology and Digital Systems.

Grand Scale but Pacing Issues

Nayanthara shines as Yash's sister, holding her own against a loud Raya and receiving ample screen time. Kiara Advani delivers a powerful performance as Nadia, channelising the pain and trauma her character has endured all her life. Huma Qureshi is decent as Elizabeth, while Rukmini Vasanth doesn’t have much to do.

The music of Toxic is a disappointment, with the background score failing to deliver a banger. Despite relying on scale, the film should have been one of its biggest strengths. Overall, beneath the swagger and violence, Yash’s Toxic is ultimately interested in generational trauma and the ways in which a damaged childhood can shape an adult's understanding of love.

The film's emotional core is its most compelling idea, with Yash bringing enough vulnerability beneath Raya's macho to make it work in stretches. Unfortunately, Toxic keeps making this character study a larger than life spectacle, losing sight of the emotional core it spends so much time establishing.

Performances Shine

That is the film's most compelling idea, and Yash brings enough vulnerability beneath Raya's macho to make it work in stretches.

Unfortunately, the film keeps making this character study a larger than life spectacle, losing sight of the emotional core it spends so much time establishing.

It was pure rage bait. The buildup to Toxic: A Fairytale for Grown Ups’ release over the past few months has been tumultuous. First came the postponement, which sparked plenty of chatter.

Then came the teaser and promotional assets, which made it seem as though the film was going to shatter every conceivable on-screen record for misogyny and vulgarity. The final product, however, is nowhere near.

For a project mounted on such a massive scale, the makers got exactly what they wanted: attention.So, what exactly has Yash cooked up with his magnum opus? Let’s find out.Directed Much like her previous works Liars Dice and Moothon, the film revolves around identity and the quest to find oneself.

Raya (Yash) has had a troubled childhood, with his sister Ganga (Nayanthara) being his only constant source of support. She wants him to rule the city, and his first step towards that goal is joining a gang of goons. It is here that he meets Rebecca (Tara Sutaria), the kingpin’s sister.

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After a whirlwind affair, Raya meets Nadia (Kiara Advani), the star performer at a travelling circus. The two fall in love, and Nadia soon becomes pregnant with Raya’s child. But Rebecca is unwilling to let him go.

Complicating matters further is Elizabeth (Huma Qureshi), the kingpin’s girlfriend, who is out for revenge against Raya following a personal loss. It is Raya’s complicated personal and professional journey, and his attempt to find himself amid love and violence that forms the crux of Toxic.With a runtime of 194 minutes, roughly three and a half hours, Toxic takes far too long to say what it wants to.

The first half, in particular, takes its time building momentum, and that slow-burn approach can test one's patience. Yash, as Raya, is eccentric and elusive, never giving anyone a straight answer and rarely allowing a conversation to remain straightforward. Almost everything is turned into a dialogue or a dramatic beat.

Raya repeatedly justifies his actions That kind of filminess can work when the material demands spectacle at every turn, but Toxic, with its emphasis on the psyche of its central character and his internal journey, often feels like it would have benefited from greater restraint. The film repeatedly announces its own cinematic importance instead of simply allowing its moments to land.

After spending so much time establishing its world and delving into Raya's psyche, the film suddenly begins racing towards its conclusion. At times, it almost feels like an extension of Ranbir Kapoor's 2023 film Animal, another film built around a complicated father-son relationship and deeply rooted in unresolved daddy issues.

Toxic loses its grip on the material as it heads towards the climax, where the storytelling becomes erratic and the emotional payoff doesn't match the buildup.The cinematography Grand and slick, it gives Toxic a visual scale.In the performance department, Yash gives it his all. His swagger is on point, but I had a hard time distinguishing Raya from his Rocky Bhai persona in KGF.

Both characters have pretty much the same alpha male personality and similar motivations, making it difficult to see much of a difference between the two. It is only later, when Yash switches gears in the double role, that he appears genuinely different, displaying a greater range.Next on the list of good performances is Nayanthara as Yash's sister.

She holds her own against a loud Raya and is given ample screen time and enough material. Kiara Advani as Nadia performs well too, channelising the pain and trauma her character has endured all her life.Huma Qureshi is decent as Elizabeth, while Rukmini Vasanth doesn't have a lot to do.

Tara Sutaria, too, does a good job in her part.The music of Toxic is a disappointment. Even the background score, which is often crucial in elevating a spectacle film, fails to deliver a banger this time.

For a film that so heavily relies on scale, the music should have been one of its biggest strengths.Overall, beneath the swagger and violence, Yash's Toxic is ultimately interested in generational trauma and the ways in which a damaged childhood can shape an adult's understanding of love. That is the film's most compelling idea, and Yash brings enough vulnerability beneath Raya's macho to make it work in stretches.

Unfortunately, the film keeps making this character study a larger than life spectacle, losing sight of the emotional core it spends so much time establishing.