Yash’s Toxic Trailer Sparks Controversy; Rishika Singh Reacts

The trailer of Yash’s much awaited film Toxic: A Fairy Tale for Grown-Ups has revived a controversy on social media after Kannada actress Rishika Singh publicly criticised some of the visuals and portrayal of women in the film.

Rishika Singh, daughter of veteran Kannada filmmaker Rajendra Singh Babu, posted a video on the Toxic trailer. In that video she expressed her disappointment in the hero and female characters, especially in how Yash and the actresses are represented. She also stressed that women should be treated with respect.

She ended her video with a harsh warning to Yash, using sarcastic references to the movie title to say there should be respect for women, otherwise they would “vacate” Karnataka, she said. The comments quickly went viral on social media and fuelled an argument between fans and Kannada cinema fans.

Rishika's comments have received mixed reactions. While some social media users have backed her criticism and argued that filmmakers should be mindful of how women are portrayed, others have questioned her views. Some fans pointed out that actresses who are part of Toxic have spoken positively about their experience working with Yash and the film team during the promotional campaign.

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Rishika's own documentary has been criticized, and people have posted clips from her earlier films and asked questions about her comments. And there’s another section of social media users who have defended Rishika’s right to say something about a movie and say criticism of a movie shouldn’t become personal attacks on somebody and online trolling.

Toxic has been slowly gaining momentum ahead of its theatrical launch and the debate is also at a crucial stage. Yash is featured in the film along with Kiara Advani, Nayanthara, Huma Qureshi, Tara Sutaria and Rukmini Vasanth in Geetu Mohandas’s production. It has been hailed for its dark gangster world, stylized action sequences and bold visuality.

Rishika Singh is a popular name in Kannada cinema and also participated in the first season of Bigg Boss Kannada. She has done films like Kanthirava, Kalla Malla Sulla, Benki Birugali and Tunturu.

So far, the debate is largely a social media debate and neither Yash nor the Toxic team appear to have made any public comment on Rishika's comments. Still it has added another layer to the film’s already high-profile marketing.