You can find Yash in the news again, but not for any big action number this time. It’s more of a tussle between his brand and what he stands for. His new Toxic spot, Ladies & Ladies, has taken some heat for being, in the words of some, in poor taste, and it has put an old promise he made about on-screen intimacy back in the spotlight.
Why the teaser has some on edge
Sure, the clip is all about the women in the movie, but you won’t get much of that from social media. Some will have it that the promo is objectifying them and gives them no say, even when they are front and centre.
Then there is the matter of the promo’s boldness. In one part, it tells the kids to be gone, then says as much to the parents and grandparents, with a wry nod to the great grandparents to view at their own peril. If you are a fan of Yash's more wholesome side, it’s a bit of a shock.
A case of déjà vu
Go back a few years to his stint on Weekend With Ramesh and you’ll find the rule he put in place for himself. Put simply: if I can’t sit in a room with my parents and watch it, I’m not doing it. He figured most of us would feel the same way.
He was open about how romantic scenes put him on edge, too. “I am surprised when people tell me I do them well,” he had said, “because I get very nervous behind the camera.”
He once told of a time in his TV days when he was put in a position to pull on the lead actress’ saree and he just froze, co-actors or no. His wife Radhika would make fun of him for it, as would his mother, who thought he had no idea how to be in a romantic scene.
The internet has a long memory
With the Toxic clip making waves, it didn’t take long for people to dig up those old soundbites. You have comments like: “But Yash said he wouldn’t make movies that would put his parents in an awkward position.”
Some are also wondering why the focus has been on Kiara Advani and not him, with one user noting that in a country like India, a man’s word is seldom put under the microscope. It has become a wider talk about whether we hold our celebrities to the same measure.
If you are in the comments section, here is what you will be seeing:
– The contrast between his word and the new ad
– Questions over the way the women are put forward
– A different set of rules for men and women in the industry
What to expect from Toxic
Geetu Mohandas is the one in the director’s chair for this one, a period piece he dubs a Fairytale for Grown-Ups. You will see Yash alongside Kiara Advani, Huma Qureshi, Nayanthara, Rukmini Vasanth and Tara Sutaria. We will have it in Kannada and English, with dubs in Hindi, Telugu, Tamil and Malayalam to follow.
Mark your calendars for August 26, 2026. Until then, the filmmakers can put the finishing touches on the story and Yash can put in his two cents on the chatter about the teaser and the lines he has drawn in the past.
What’s at stake for the superstar
Long before KGF, he had a following in Karnataka thanks to shows on TV and then films like Googly and Mr and Mrs Ramachari. He and Radhika have been together since 2016 and have a couple of kids; it was an image that fit in with his views on what should be shown on screen.
Toxic is a departure from that, and it puts him in an unusual position. Will the audience see it as a natural progression, or will they want him to stick to the script? We may have to wait for the movie itself to be sure.
