Toxic: A Fairy Tale for Grown-Ups, produced by KVN Productions and Monster Mind Creations, was released in theatres today.
Plot:
In 1947 Goa, Raya (Yash) collides head-on with the gangster Salvador, a rivalry sparked by Raya's affair with Nadia (Kiara Advani), a circus performer. This affair sets in motion consequences that will shape the fates of both Raya and his beloved sister, Ganga (Nayanthara). The story unfolds around whether Raya will marry Nadia, what becomes of Ganga, and why his son, Ticket (also played by Yash), is consumed by a thirst for vengeance.
Performances:
Yash is the only actor who lends a mainstream quality to the movie. If not for him, the heavy-duty emotions and the alienating treatment would have been harder to handle. His anguished screams and domineering presence in the action scenes are apt. An action film of this nature deserved someone who wasn't entirely a commercial hero from whom the audience expects whistle-worthy dance moves and hilarity.
Kiara Advani is not enigmatic enough, so we fail to feel her pain. Nayanthara is stiffer than she should be; despite participating in a couple of action sequences, she fails to add heft to her meaty character. Huma Qureshi as Elizabeth was expected to provide a break from the cardboard male gangsters in her faction. Tara Sutaria as Rebecca has the looks, but that is all there is to it. Rukmini Vasanth as Mellisa makes a delayed entry, failing to engage in a prolonged conversation with Raya, who by this point is busy having conversations with himself. Sudev Nair as Karmadi, Akshay Oberoi as Tony, and Darrell D'Silva as Salvador are even more generic than the sidekicks in They Call Him OG.
Technical Departments:
Director of Photography Rajeev Ravi's work is unworthy of a multi-billion gangster movie shot almost entirely in sets that never look lived-in. In this, Production Designer TP Abid must take half the blame. Ujwal Kulkarni's editing submits to the vision of the director-lead man duo.
Ravi Basrur, Vishal Mishra, and Tanishk Bagchi, between them, do not let anything sink in. The songs manage to convey through their narrative poetry what the dialogues struggle to, if only you are patient enough. Tabaahi is the best in terms of composition. Manasaagadhe, Entha Maayavi, Maharaya, His Aura Hits You, and Peek A Boo fail to make an impact, with several of them drawing far too heavily from Western influences.
The action choreography (JJ Perry's participation was hugely hyped) is disorienting at times, reminding us of the Saaho experience more than the iconic KGF brilliance. Pressed suits, cocked fedoras, the glint of guns. All style, no substance.
Post-Mortem:
Director Geetu Mohandas comes up with an intimate storyline. The multi-generational period action-gangster drama spans decades against the backdrop of post-independence Goa. The narrative follows Goa's transition from a Portuguese port into a dark, stylized haven for international drug and arms cartels. From opium trade to a massacre at a graveyard, from a gangster who has a twin brother to Raya's deliberations on carrying forward his father's legacy, Toxic does show flashes of honesty. Even Raya's characterization is not too dull.
The siblings are there for a reason, and not because the woman has to be raped by a rival. As a character says about them, they have the same sad eyes. The first scene between Raya and Nadia is not a typical one. There is a sense of drama in at least 5-6 scenes. It's another matter that they are all interrupted by an incredible amount of bloodshed and too many dead bodies flying around. The primary actors are showing pain and/or helplessness during the killings. Toxic is a sibling story and a love story at once.
The handful of merits, however, are outweighed by a far greater number of flaws. In scene after scene, some character or another is disrupting the calm or unleashing mayhem with guns that spray an endless stream of bullets. Gang wars and explosions recur throughout, over-stylized and repetitive, and staged on such visibly artificial sets that they make you long for the expansive landscapes in the movies of Prashanth Neel and SS Rajamouli. Even Lokesh Kanagaraj's films, made on far smaller budgets, don't confine themselves to such cramped spaces.
The second half, arriving after an arduous 90 minutes, completely loses momentum. The introduction of the second Yash fails to deliver any high-energy payoff; keeping this character under wraps could have added a much-needed layer of suspense. For a post-pandemic spectacle, the film is surprisingly predictable and devoid of genuine twists. The chaotic final stretch devolves into an exhausting ordeal, with the actors' exaggerated anguish becoming unbearable to watch.
Closing Remarks:
Toxic is a mess. It loses momentum after a tolerable first half. The absence of twists, artificial-looking sets, and too many action sequences corrode its soul.
