Toxic: A Fairy Tale for Grown-Ups

Toxic: A Fairy Tale for Grown-Ups is an upcoming Indian period gangster film written and directed by Geetu Mohandas. Filming simultaneously in the Kannada and English languages, the film stars Yash and Nayanthara, alongside Huma Qureshi, Kiara Advani, Tara Sutaria, Darrell D'Silva, and Akshay Oberoi. It is jointly produced by Venkat K. Narayana and Yash under their KVN Productions and Monster Mind Creations production companies.
The film was officially announced in December 2023 under the tentative title Yash 19, as it is the 19th film of Yash as the leading actor, and the official title was announced a few days later. Principal photography commenced the following August in Bengaluru. The cinematography was handled by Rajeev Ravi and the music for the title announcement was composed by Jeremy Stack.
Toxic is scheduled to be released on 19 March 2026, coinciding with Eid Ul Fitr.
In April 2018, it was reported that Yash was to join hands with director Geetu Mohandas for his next starrer after the KGF film franchise (2018–present). Tentatively titled Yash 19, production was reported to begin after Geetu finalised it as her next directorial. In April 2023, sources claimed that Yash and Geetu signed the venture, and the production would start that June. In late September, Hollywood action choreographer J. J. Perry posted a photo on Instagram with himself and Yash, hinting a possible collaboration for the venture. Soon after, Yash reportedly spent a day at music composer Charan Raj's studio, which also hinted a possible collaboration. On 9 December, KVN Productions and Yash's production house Monster Mind Creations announced the collaboration with the former and Geetu. In January 2024, music composer Jeremy Stack and cinematographer Rajeev Ravi were announced as a part of the technical crew. On 8 January 2025, Geetu stated that Yash was also part of the writing team.
Nayanthara, Darrell D'Silva, Kiara Advani, Huma Qureshi, Tara Sutaria, Akshay Oberoi and Sajol Ahamed are part of the cast.
Principal photography commenced in June 2024 in Bangalore and gradually, a major chunk started on 8 August 2024 at a large-scale 20-acre set near Bengaluru, replicating the era from the 1940s to the 1970s. The production involves an extensive team of over 1,000 crew members and 450 actors, including foreign extras. As part of the production, the film utilized previsualization to plan out the stunts to ensure safety. Shooting then took place in Thoothukudi where an action scene was shot. A song sequence took place in Jaipur.
The film was announced on December 8, 2023, on KVN Productions' YouTube channel. The first poster of the film was unveiled on 7 January, and a first-look teaser was released the following day, on Yash's birthday. Collider's Rahul Malhotra reacted favorably to the teaser, noting that "Nothing about the Toxic teaser recalls Mohandas' previous film; instead, it evokes the chaotic energy of the elaborate opening sequence of Damien Chazelle's Babylon, combined with the maximalism of Baz Luhrmann's The Great Gatsby." In March 2025, the film's new release date was announced with a poster.
Toxic is scheduled to be released worldwide on 19 March 2026, coinciding with Eid Ul Fitr in multiple languages, including Kannada, English, Hindi, Telugu, Tamil and Malayalam. The film was initially scheduled to release theatrically on 10 April 2025. However, the release was postponed due to multiple production delays.