‘Toxic’ Movie Review: His Aura Hits You! Yash’s Stylish Gangster Drama and Psychological Thriller Delivers the Goods

Rocking Star Yash’s most ambitious film yet, Toxic: A Fairy Tale for Grown-Ups, released in theatres on August 26, 2026. The film’s Wednesday release is aimed to cash in on the festive occasions of Raksha Bandhan on August 28 and Eid around the same time, leading to a weekend. The Toxic advance booking and first day collections will ensure it gets a bumper opening and a great festive first week. The film has Yash in a double role of Raya and his son ‘Ticket’ aka Rumi, and the actor owns the frame in both avatars. Directed by Geetu Mohandas, Toxic stars Kiara Advani, Nayanthara, Tara Sutaria, Huma Qureshi and Rukmini Vasanth in pivotal roles. But how does Toxic fare in terms of audience interest? Read our review to find out! ‘Toxic’ X Review: Yash, Geetu Mohandas’ Action Film Hailed As ‘Mass Cinema on Steroids’.

‘Toxic’ Plot – Is It Just Violence?

First up, let’s clear it out that Toxic is a gangster drama. Therefore, it has the requisite violence to portray such a saga. The blood and killings remind one of Ranbir Kapoor’s film Animal, and Yash’s son character Ticket may look like Ranbir’s villain character of Aziz Haque in the upcoming film Animal Park (as was shown in the end of Animal). However, the similarities end there. Toxic is a different story. It is not just about brutality and the false glory of a gangster and gang wars. It is also about Raya’s human side, his heart aching for the love of his life, Nadia (Kiara Advani), his elder sister Ganga (Nayanthara), and his first child, Ticket. ‘Toxic’ Trailer Launch Exclusive: Yash Defends Kiara Advani, Geetu Mohandas Calls ‘Rocking Star’ ‘An Emotion’ (Watch Videos).

Flashbacks show how much Raya has gone through in his young life. After their parents’ brutal death, Ganga nurtures and brings up Raya like a mother. She protects, provides for and drives him to be the unbeatable gangster that he becomes. But to what end?

After a whirlwind romance with Rebecca (Tara Sutaria), Raya marries her (also for business interests). However, his lonely self, craves the new circus trapeze artiste in town, Nadia. Raya cheats on his wife and births a child with Nadia, and a bloodbath ensues to save his mistress and the child. Raya’s romance with both Rebecca and Nadia feels like true love, but he longs for Nadia and the emotion he feels for her.

‘Toxic’ First Half Takes Dramatic Turn Post Interval

The film, based in Goa and partly in Macau, explores the gangster plotlines and Raya’s love stories in the first half. However, it’s the second half that is gripping. Enters Mellisa (Rukmini Vasanth), who becomes his woman and mother to his son Adam. Raya’s life takes a different turn and it’s something far more worrisome that he is dealing with now than missing the important women in his life.

‘Toxic’ Trailer in Hindi - Watch Video:

Cast and Performances in ‘Toxic’

Yash as a producer, writer and leading actor of Toxic, comes into his own. Whatever the outcome of Toxic at the box office, a multi-hyphenate talent like Yash must continue doing what he loves with passion. Yash delivers the anti-hero Raya and Ticket with such conviction that one is on the edge while he is on the screen. He is truly a remarkable actor! Machismo apart, his eyes convey the right emotions every time. Nadia describes the “sad eyes” of both Raya and Ganga, and these eyes of Yash and Nayanthara are worth looking at!

Nayanthara, the Lady Superstar of the South, delivers one of her best performances as Raya’s older sister and mother figure. Of course, she is a gangster, a godmother. A fierce and fearless lady who has surmounted many odds as a girl child.

In a career-best performance, Kiara Advani steals the show as the troubled circus artiste Nadia in love with Raya. Tara Sutaria as a feisty-turned-distraught Rebecca yet again proves why she is one of the best actresses in India. Huma Qureshi delivers the goods as Elizabeth and so does Akshay Oberoi as her brother Tony. Darrell D'Silva as Salvador and Sudev Nair as Karmadi are good in supporting roles. The viral “woman in the car” Beatriz Taufenbach does not have a full role in Toxic. The poor lady had to deal with real-life toxic fans.

Sanjeeda Shaikh’s special appearance as Kamala, the mother of Raya and Ganga, is impressive. Krishiv Jindal as the young Raya and the child who plays Ticket in the film act really well, as also the other child artistes.

‘Toxic’ Direction, Action, Cinematography, Production Design, Costumes, Music, Editing

Director Geetu Mohandas helms a gangster saga, emotional drama and psychological thriller all rolled into one with expert hands. Yes, it’s a female director who has made Toxic in a way that would cater mostly to the male audience, but still enjoyed by all.

The mind-blowing and sometimes over-the-top fight sequences in Toxic are unique and made for the lovers of thrilling action on screen, helmed by international stunt directors, including J J Perry, Anbariv, Kecha Khamphakdee and Amrit Singh. The cinematography by Rajeev Ravi is beautiful. The lighting and the frames don’t miss a beat. Apt for a gangster drama.

The sets, the production design by T P Abid, the costumes, the overall ambience and look of Toxic are like in Hollywood or Netflix series. They bring to life the period drama set in the then Portuguese-ruled Goa, with a Spanish-inspired look and feel.

Listen to Toxic Music OST - Full Album

The songs of Toxic were chartbusters before the movie released. Whether it’s “Tabaahi”, “Madhosh”, “Toxic (Title Track)”, “Chingariyaan”, “His Aura Hits You”, “Waqt” and “Waqt (Soul Version)”, “Peek A Boo”, “Father & Son - Theme Music” and “Blood On Blood - Theme Music”, the Toxic soundtrack composed by several music directors like Vishal Mishra, Ravi Basrur, Tanishk Bagchi, Faheem Abdullah and Arslan Nizami is truly one for the record books. The tracks in the BGM (background music) by Ravi Basrur provide the perfect feel for the hard-hitting narrative, especially in the action sequences.

The editing by Ujwal Kulkarni is good but sometimes feels like some scenes were cut off abruptly to reduce the run-time.

Minuses of ‘Toxic’

Even in the age of the two long Dhurandhar films, Toxic feels a bit too long. However, considering the different story arcs it aims to establish before its conclusion, the length is valid. The film also at times is not clear on who is who and why they are being attacked. Similar to Hollywood tropes. Also, it isn't clear whether Raya has a child with Rebecca, where a baby is showed being baptised in church in their presence. Another important thing is that, with such a stellar female cast, Toxic could have had deeper characters and more screen time for them, cutting down on action sequences and giving the female leads more depth. It’s an opportunity lost for Geetu Mohandas.

Verdict and Rating of ‘Toxic’

Toxic is about a flawed hero, rather a narcissistic anti-hero in Raya. It does not show violence without showing the horrible consequences Raya has to face towards the end. The icing on the cake in the film is the twist in the end. It may remind you of a certain Hollywood film or several books or series, but naming them will give out the suspense. For those calling Toxic hollow, well, it is certainly well-crafted and several notches higher than the mindless masala films one generally sees in the southern part of India or even Bollywood. Toxic is worth a dekko! And it is certainly a violent fairy tale, not made for kids.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 26, 2026 11:30 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).