📖 What’s the story about?
The narrative is set in 1947, where Raya and his elder sister Ganga seek revenge for their father’s murder. Following this, they begin working for Salvador’s gang.
Following Ganga’s strategic advice, Raya starts romancing Salvador’s daughter, Rebecca, with the ultimate goal of inheriting the empire. Meanwhile, Raya also falls in love with Nadia, a circus performer. The film revolves around this master plan concocted by Raya and his sister, and the consequences they face due to Raya’s duplicity.
🎯 What the trailer promised: A grand gangster epic in the vein of The Godfather with Yash in a never-seen-before avatar.
💡 What it actually delivered: A confused mess that shifts from gangster revenge drama in the first half to a psychological thriller about guilt in the second half. The trailer created a vibe that the film completely fails to live up to.
📺 Movie Status: Released on August 26, 2026. The film has received overwhelmingly negative reviews from both critics and audiences.
The narrative is set in 1947, where Raya and his elder sister Ganga seek revenge for their father’s murder. Following this, they begin working for Salvador’s gang.
Following Ganga’s strategic advice, Raya starts romancing Salvador’s daughter, Rebecca, with the ultimate goal of inheriting the empire. Meanwhile, Raya also falls in love with Nadia, a circus performer.
The film revolves around this master plan concocted by Raya and his sister, and the consequences they face due to Raya’s duplicity. But does it deliver on its promise? Not really.
🎬 Toxic – Official Trailer
I just finished watching Toxic, and honestly, I’m still processing what I witnessed. Let me take you through my journey with this film.
I had booked my tickets way back on Wednesday itself. But for the past four days, I’d been bombarded with endless negative reviews everywhere I looked. My heart was genuinely sinking reading all that criticism. I kept thinking to myself—”All that hard work the team put into making this film, and people are just ripping it apart mercilessly.”
I tried convincing myself with the classic Bollywood examples. Remember how audiences trashed films like Mera Naam Joker or Kaagaz Ke Phool when they first released? People hurled abuses at those masterpieces, only to later realize their mistakes and eventually worship them. I kept telling myself, “Toxic might be going through the same phase right now. People aren’t accepting it today, but one day they’ll be dancing with this film on their heads!” There had to be SOME redeeming quality, right?
Well, today shattered all those illusions completely.
Let me be brutally honest—you cannot make a film like this without consuming some seriously high-quality toxic substances yourself. I’m not joking.
If anyone finds any “redeeming quality” in this movie, I genuinely need to ask them—”Bro, have you always been like this since childhood, or did you consume something special today?”
From the very first frame, Yash is busy punching everyone left and right, killing people, and sleeping with anyone he encounters at any given moment. The film desperately tries to give off this grand Hollywood Godfather vibe, but here’s the kicker—the dialogue delivery feels straight out of a 1990s South Indian masala film. The contrast is jarring, to say the least.
Yash does a double role, and credit where it’s due—he works his magic in both characters. There’s supposedly a twist built around this double role toward the end. But before you can even process the impact of that twist, you’re hit with another senseless bullet-fest, an avalanche sequence, and suddenly… the movie just ends.
I literally couldn’t get up from my seat—not because I was emotionally moved, but because I was mourning my hard-earned money. I was cursing myself thinking, “Who wastes their precious money like this? And especially at the end of the month!”
Dear Geetu, please don’t tell anyone you directed this. For your own sake.
And now, I’m genuinely scared for Ramayana 🥺
Indian cinema has been revolutionized by Yash’s Toxic 🫡💥
(Yes, I’m being sarcastic. Very sarcastic.)
- Yash is the Soul of the Film – The entire movie revolves around Yash, and I was genuinely impressed by his character transition, multiple distinct looks, and his lethal performance. He carries the entire film on his shoulders.
- Kiara Advani – She delivered a good performance with the right amount of madness in her character.
- Nayanthara – As the badass sister, she was quite effective, especially in the interval block sequence where she tries to save Raya. That moment was genuinely well-executed.
- Tara Sutaria – She shone in her emotional sequence. Her acting in that particular scene was surprisingly good.
- Locations and Visuals – The locations are beautiful. The desert sequences toward the climax were visually appealing. Some stylish action sequences keep you engaged, even if they’re over-the-top.
- Music – Two songs—Tabahi and Waqt—stood out and were quite good.
- Climax Twist – The unexpected twist in the climax and the emotional father-son angle worked to some extent.
- No Proper Character Introductions – This is a massive problem. There are too many characters thrown at you without proper introduction. Questions will swirl in your head throughout: “Who is this? What’s their goal? Why are they showing this person? What exactly are they doing?” You’ll struggle to connect with anyone because no character gets proper space to breathe.
- Disjointed and Slow Screenplay – The screenplay feels completely disconnected and moves at a snail’s pace. It’s genuinely boring. So many sequences could have been trimmed. The gangster world-building is utterly unconvincing. The opium business is introduced and then quickly shifted away before you can understand what’s happening. You never truly connect with the underworld they’re trying to build. The filmmakers could have invested more time in detailing these aspects.
- Wasted Talented Cast – Huma Qureshi, Akshay Oberoi, and Rukmini Vasanth are completely wasted. They leave absolutely no impact whatsoever.
- Tara Sutaria’s Underutilization – They used Tara for a bold sequence in the first half, but apart from one emotional scene, there’s nothing memorable about her character. Some slow-motion action sequences featuring her didn’t work at all.
- Unconvincing Love Story – Why did Raya fall for Nadia? What was so special about her compared to the other women? The film never clarifies this. There was a genuine need for drama and establishment in these areas. Instead, they filled the runtime with unnecessary action scenes.
- Weak BGM – The background score fails to leave any impression.
- Poor Hindi Dubbing – The Hindi dubbing is subpar.
- No Message, No Substance – There’s no takeaway, no meaningful message. At one point, they jump directly from one scene to 20 years later with older characters—and this is treated casually.
- Average Story – Last but definitely not least, the core story is extremely average. It fails to provide anything unique or groundbreaking.
Here’s something interesting—the second half completely shifts genres into a psychological thriller. The ending twist might disappoint many viewers, especially since the trailer created an entirely different vibe and expectation.
Overall, the film felt average. The first half is a gangster revenge action drama, while the second half becomes a psychological thriller dealing with guilt and remorse. Since this marks Yash’s return to the big screen after four years, expectations were naturally sky-high—for me and everyone else. Add to that the numerous promises made by Yash and the entire team during various interviews and promotional events, and you can understand why fans were expecting something extraordinary. Unfortunately, Toxic fails to live up to those sky-high expectations.
⚠️ 18+ Content Alert
There are bold sequences. I’d strongly advise against watching this with children or family.
🏆 Tom’s Final Verdict
Should you watch Toxic? Only for Yash’s fierce performance. If you’re a die-hard Yash fan, go ahead and catch it once. But if you’re expecting a groundbreaking gangster epic that will redefine Indian cinema—manage your expectations. Significantly.
💬 Have you watched Toxic?
What did you think of Yash’s performance? Did the cliffhanger leave you wanting more? Drop your thoughts below! 💀
