Toxic: A Fairy Tale for Grown-Ups was released in theatres on Wednesday amid high expectations from Yash’s fans. However, the Geetu Mohandas film, in which the actor received co-credit for story, screenplay and dialogues, failed to impress many. The internet even dug up a 2021 interview of Geetu talking about the film, chalking down the criticism for it to her writing process. (Also Read: Toxic release sparks hilarious memes about audience experience: ‘Bro, what the hell was that?’)
What did Geetu Mohandas say?
Talking to Film Companion in 2021, Geetu spoke about her writing process and said, “I have no idea in my writing where I’m going. It can get crazy when you have more than one person collaborating with you on a script. Because they can just throw stones and walk away. My process is quite crazy, erratic, and I arrive at it later. It’s not something I know like, okay, this is the beginning, this is the middle, this is the end. It doesn’t work like that for me.” She also stated that she and her team tend to improvise on set.
She also spoke about Toxic, which she described as a ‘gangster drama with a female gaze’ and said, “All the scripts I’ve written are by myself. It’s the first time for my next film, I have a writer’s room, and I think they’ve given up on me. They hate me. You have to evolve; I get bored otherwise. So, I think I write something, I shoot something else, I edit something else, and then the film is out. Then I’m happy. I never stick to the script. For my next film, I’m meeting producers. It’s the one thing I keep telling them. You’re not gonna get what you’re reading.”
Internet reacts to Geetu’s statement
The internet, already reacting to Toxic with trolls and memes, had a field day when Geetu’s statement resurfaced. “KVN Productions should have listened to this disclaimer,” wrote one X (formerly Twitter) user, referring to the producer. Konanki Venkata Narayana and Yash produced it through KVN Productions and Monster Mind Creations LLP, respectively. One called it, “Toxic: The Torture. Director’s cut. 70mm Imax.”
“Maybe this explains why #Toxic ended up receiving such mixed reactions. That creative freedom clearly comes with its own risks — and #Toxic seems to be one such example,” wrote one X user while another added, “That’s why it’s an outdated stuff in the movie because you don’t have clarity or vision for your project. Your lack of vision is clear on the screen. And you are flaunting it? Wow!”
However, there were those who defended Geetu, pointing out that numerous directors tend to work in a similar fashion. “So many directors also dont fully stick to the script, they still execute work. Somehow she is looked at in a diff lens,” defended one X user, while another wrote, “She is right. What ever you write on paper it does not com on screen exactly like that, only a person who works a film set will relate to this.”
Toxic stars Yash, Kiara Advani, Nayanthara, Huma Qureshi, Tara Sutaria and Rukmini Vasanth. The film collected over ₹100 crore domestically and ₹140 crore worldwide on its opening day.
