‘If someone says I can’t do something, I see their stupidity’: Yash opens up about Toxic rumours

(Above) Yash; (right) Kiara Advani at the event. Pics/By Special Arrangement

A crowd of over 100 bystanders cheered and hooted as a bus carrying a section of Indian media arrived at AMB Cinemas in Bengaluru for the trailer launch of Yash's Toxic: A Fairytale for Grown-ups, on August 8. Turns out, the film's poster plastered on one side of the bus was enough to get the fans excited. Naturally, when Yash arrived on stage to kickstart the event, loud chants of "Rocky bhai" - his character in KGF - welcomed him.

Yash made his ambition for Toxic clear, as he asserted that his upcoming movie is not just a "Kannada film". "Now it's no more a Kannada, Tamil, or Telugu film. This is an Indian film. This is the right example to see talented people from their respective industries doing great [work]," he said, referring to his co-actors Nayanthara, Kiara Advani, Huma Qureshi, Rukmini Vasanth, and Tara Sutaria.

Geetu Mohandas's directorial venture has been shot in Kannada and English. Yash hinted that he was dissuaded from shooting the English version. "Most of us listen to people who say what you can't do. I don't. If someone tells me I can't do something, I only see their lack of imagination or stupidity," he said.

This self-belief held him through the film's making, even as rumours abounded about the action drama being delayed, or worse, shelved. Yash, who has co-produced the movie with Venkat K Narayana, addressed it as he said, "There would be news about the film being shelved. I don't know from where they'd write these stories. I used to feel bad because we were working so hard. We shot for 200 days for two versions."

Kiara Advani was trolled for her intimate scenes in the song, ‘Tabahi'. Addressing the misogyny, Yash, at the event, told her, "What you have to go through [is] unfortunate. But don't care [about these things]. Whatever you believe in, you should do and people will appreciate [you]. We are ahead of our time"

Nayanthara had initially turned ‘Toxic' down, as she was apprehensive about starring in an ensemble film. She shared, "But Geetu [director] asked me 10 million questions. So, I told her to narrate the film. When I heard the script, I wondered, ‘Who is this director that we haven't seen?'"