[ad_1]
Last month, KGF star Yash’s production house Monster Mind Creations announced that his upcoming Kannada-English action entertainer, Geethu Mohandas’ Toxic: A Fairytale for Grownups, has been postponed yet again. The film, last scheduled to release in cinemas worldwide on June 4, was further pushed as part of the banner realigning their strategy to ensure a wider global rollout.
Now, Yash has opened up on the idea behind taking the tough call. He also acknowledged that while his vision for the film is global, his core audience back home don’t appreciate the fact that Toxic is getting postponed again and again over the past few months. “That is really something my fans or people in India will not like. They’ll be upset because culturally once you start shooting the film, there is a timeline in their head,” Yash admitted.
However, the actor-producer maintains that he’s trying to market his film in a global way. By this, he means finishing the final product before pitching it to distributors around the globe, as is the practice in Hollywood. “In the West, everything starts when you finish the film. If 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,” he told Variety.
That’s a far cry from how films are marketed in India, when the process starts as soon as the film is announced. “Unfortunately, marketing happens even if you don’t want to. The moment we start shooting, people start writing about it,” said Yash about his star-studded tentpole project. “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,” he added.
Toxic timeline
The first word on Toxic came out three years ago when reports of Yash collaborating with Geetu Mohandas for his next, then tentatively titled Yash 19, surfaced online. The film was officially announced later that year, by Monster Mind Creations and Venkat K Narayana’s KVN Productions. The film went on floors in October 2024.
Originally scheduled to release on April 10, 2025, it was pushed by almost a year, owing to delays in shooting and production. The film then locked March 19, 2026 as its next date, on the occasion of Eid, Gudi Padwa, and Ugadi. It also locked a Rs 105 crore deal with Phars Film for distribution in the Middle East, given the dominance of Yash’s popular Kannada franchise KGF in the region.
However, owing to the US-Iran conflict and the subsequent Gulf crisis, Toxic was postponed yet again from March 19 to June 4. Last month, the film was presented at CinemaCon in Las Vegas, where it garnered interest among key international distributors. Later that month, Yash announced his decision to further withhold the film.
Story continues below this ad
“Presenting our film at CinemaCon and witnessing the overwhelming global response reaffirmed what we have always believed — that this film deserves to reach its fullest potential worldwide. In light of this, we have decided to recalibrate our release timeline. While we will not be releasing on June 4 as announced earlier, we will be releasing at a later, globally aligned date. Toxic will come to theatres across the world soon,” he said in a statement.
Yash said that at a time when Indian cinema was stepping onto the global stage, he felt a responsibility “to raise the bar” and give the film the impact it deserves. “As an actor and producer, I see this moment as an opportunity to do my part — for the Indian film industry and for all of us — by taking the time to ensure our film reaches the world with the impact it is meant to have,” he added.
“Some stories ask for patience. Some journeys demand it. We promise to give you a film to enjoy and celebrate — a film that will stand as a proud moment for Indian cinema,” he concluded.
Yash is also attached as co-producer to Nitesh Tiwari’s two-part adaptation of Indian epic, the Ramayana, along with Namit Malhotra’s Prime Focus, which was also presented at CinemaCon along with Toxic.
Story continues below this ad
Also Read — ‘Thugs of Hindostan is like Sholay’: Aamir Khan reveals why he said yes to the film that ‘bounced very badly’
Toxic, co-written by Yash and Geetu Mohandas, is billed as an action-thriller saga that unfolds in Goa between the early 1940s and the 1970s. In the film, the KGF star plays the role of Raya, a gangster. The cast also includes Nayanthara, Kiara Advani, Huma Qureshi, Rukmini Vasanth, and Tara Sutaria, among others. It’ll also be released in dubbed versions of Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, and Malayalam.
[ad_2]
Source link