There are bad films, then there are really bad films. And then there is something like Geetu Mohandas' Yash-starrer Toxic — a lavish spectacle with everything except a story strong enough to hold it together.
There are many bad films. I've seen bad films week after week. But there are bad films, and then there are really bad films. And then there is something like Geetu Mohandas' Yash-starrer Toxic.
The biggest problem with Toxic is not the lack of resources. In fact, it's the opposite. The makers had everything you could possibly need to make a big, ambitious film: a superstar, a producer with money, a fantastic technical team, some of the biggest actresses, good music, huge sets, international locations and all the money required to create a spectacle. What they didn't have was a good story.
The film takes us into the childhood of Raya and his sister, played by Nayanthara. Almost everything that could go wrong in Raya's childhood does go wrong. His sister protects him, nurtures him and stands by him. When they grow up, she wants her brother to become the biggest don.
But where? Goa, at a time when the Portuguese were still ruling parts of it while the rest of India was free. Raya wants to become the one-man don. One of the big players in this world is Salvador; Huma Qureshi is his mistress. His daughter Rebecca, played by Tara Sutaria, is supposed to marry Raya.
There is also Kiara Advani, who enters the film running a circus and is its face. Why is she there? What does the circus have to do with the larger story? Please don't ask these questions. I don't think the film itself has the answers.
The idea, I suppose, is to show us where Raya comes from and why he became the man he is. His past is supposed to explain his darkness, his anger and his transformation. He saw the worst side of humanity in his own father; will he be the same father and pass the venom? After a point you actually forget what they are fighting for, but you know they are just fighting. The plot is so wafer-thin that none of it really makes an impact.
The second half is mostly Raya versus Raya. There are some scenes with Rukmini, but for the most part, it becomes Yash's character going through one situation after another. At some point, it starts feeling less like storytelling and more like pure narcissism.
What works? The visuals work. Toxic is definitely a spectacle. It looks expensive, stylish and technically polished. The sets, cinematography, sound and production design have clearly had a lot of work put into them.
But it is a spectacle that can eventually make you blind. The art department and costume department actually do a terrific job, but everything is overshadowed as the film goes nowhere. The biggest disappointment is how some really talented actors have been used — or unused.
If Kiara Advani and Huma Qureshi thought this film would add something significant to their careers, I'm not sure it will. They come and go, and you forget about them almost immediately. Kiara spends a large part of the film teary-eyed, but I genuinely didn't feel much. Huma is also completely wasted.
The one character who did manage to touch me, at least for a few moments, was Nayanthara's. She brings some emotion into the film and gives you those few moments where you actually feel something for the people on screen.
And what about Yash? He has given it his all. You can see the hard work that has gone into the performance. But unfortunately, all that hard work is being put into a film that has a wafer-thin plot.
This is one of those films where you can see the money, the effort and the ambition on screen. What you don't see is a story strong enough to hold all of it together. At the end of it, Toxic is less of a film and more of a lesson in how not to make and mount a movie.