Yash's bold scenes with the heroines in Toxic have come in for extensive criticism. Toxic has been flayed for being "extremely risque" in nature. Many sympathizers of the Geetu Mohandas directorial opine that the same kind of anger never comes out in the case of Hollywood movies from their audiences.
But is that really so? Not quite. "Hollywood movie-goers frequently express discomfort with explicit adult content. Viewers rarely phrase their criticisms around simple moral purity. Instead, they criticize scenes as gratuitous, unnecessary, or poorly integrated into the plot," a report says.
Visuals in subgenres like torture porn often face immediate viewer pushback for relying on shock value. "Explicit art-house films like Blue Is the Warmest Color and Poor Things face similar criticism during awards season. Audiences frequently question whether intense graphic scenes serve the narrative or merely seek attention," a critic once wrote in a research paper.
However, Hollywood doesn't face the wrath of moral policing bodies. "Indians are hypocritical. They adhere to CBFC certifications when it suits them, and disrespect them when it doesn't," a Reddit user wrote.
Toxic started facing backlash right from the time the first glimpse, in which Yash was seen making out with a woman in a vehicle, was released. Had the bedroom scenes and adult content been done with purpose, the non-family audience would still have been far less critical of the movie.
