Toxic Trailer Review: Yash’s Dark and Stylish Avatar Promises a Fierce Action Spectacle

The much-awaited trailer of Toxic: A Fairy Tale for Grown-Ups has finally arrived, and it makes one thing clear; Yash is returning to the big screen with a world that looks far removed from the conventional mass-action template.

Swati Bhat

Directed by Geetu Mohandas, the film presents Yash as Raya, a character surrounded by violence, power, ambition and an unsettling sense of mystery.

The trailer immediately creates an atmosphere that feels dark, chaotic and visually ambitious. Instead of revealing the complete story, it carefully offers glimpses into Raya’s dangerous world, leaving enough unanswered questions to keep the curiosity alive. The combination of gangster drama, stylised action and fairy-tale imagery gives Toxic a distinct identity.

Yash, meanwhile, appears completely comfortable in this larger-than-life space. His intense screen presence, controlled body language and unpredictable expressions make Raya look like a character driven by both power and personal darkness. For an actor returning after the phenomenal success of the KGF franchise, the biggest challenge was always going to be creating something that did not simply remind audiences of Rocky Bhai. The trailer suggests that Toxic is attempting exactly that.

The supporting cast adds further weight to the film. Nayanthara, Kiara Advani, Huma Qureshi, Tovino Thomas, Akshay Oberoi and Sudev Nair are part of the ensemble, indicating that the film is not designed around Yash alone. The presence of such a strong cast hints at a layered narrative involving relationships, rivalry and power struggles.

Technically, the trailer looks particularly promising. Rajeev Ravi’s cinematography gives the film a gritty yet stylised texture, while Ravi Basrur’s music appears designed to amplify the scale and intensity. The action sequences have a raw, aggressive quality, while the production design creates a world that feels deliberately larger than reality.

What stands out most is the confidence of Geetu Mohandas’ visual storytelling. Toxic appears to be aiming for something more experimental than a straightforward gangster action film. The film’s title, A Fairy Tale for Grown-Ups, seems to be reflected in its strange blend of fantasy-like imagery and brutal adult themes.

Overall, the Toxic trailer succeeds in generating curiosity without giving away too much. Yash’s transformation into Raya, Geetu Mohandas’ unusual visual language, powerful action and the film’s impressive technical scale make Toxic one of the most anticipated Indian films of the year.

If the trailer is any indication, Toxic: A Fairy Tale for Grown-Ups could offer audiences a stylish, violent and unconventional cinematic experience when it reaches theatres worldwide on August 26, 2026.

#entertainment #toxic #yash #upcoming #film

From Corporate Boardrooms to the Director’s Chair: Radhika Bansal Makes Her Feature Film Debut with a Diwali Family Drama

Radhika Bansal is taking an unconventional route into Indian filmmaking. After building a career with global names such as Goldman Sachs and Harvard Business Publishing across India, Hong Kong and London, Bansal is now stepping behind the camera with her feature directorial debut, an upcoming family drama slated to arrive during the 2026 festive season.

Swati Bhat

Her journey into storytelling began unexpectedly. After stepping away from the corporate world to focus on raising her children, Bansal initially turned to writing as a way of documenting her thoughts. However, rather than writing directly about herself, she began fictionalising her experiences. What started as a personal exercise eventually evolved into a screenplay.

Her first script was a legal drama that attracted interest from major streaming platforms. Although the project did not eventually move into production, the experience proved transformative. It gave Bansal the confidence to pursue filmmaking seriously and helped her realise that storytelling could become more than a personal passion.

Her upcoming feature marks a significant new chapter. Bansal has not only written the film but has also taken charge as its director, assembling the creative team, casting the ensemble and shaping the film's overall vision. Remarkably, she undertook this journey without previous experience of working on a professional film set.

What makes Bansal's debut particularly interesting is her approach to the modern family drama. Instead of leaning heavily into dysfunctional relationships, darkness or emotional melodrama, she aims to create a story built around warmth, humour and genuine emotional connections.

The film is designed as a cinematic experience that families can watch together, across generations. Its Diwali-season release is therefore especially fitting, with the festival itself symbolising family, togetherness and celebration.

Radhika Bansal's transition from corporate boardrooms to filmmaking is more than a career change. It represents the journey of a storyteller who found her voice outside the traditional film industry and chose to trust that voice when the opportunity finally arrived.

#entertainment #debut #bollywood #corporate

Priyanka Chopra Jonas’ Global Run Gets Bigger: After Varanasi and Reset, Global Icon Joins Russell Crowe in Bluefly

Priyanka Chopra Jonas continues her impressive international streak as she joins Academy Award® winner Russell Crowe in the sci-fi action thriller Bluefly, further strengthening her presence across Indian cinema and Hollywood.

Swati Bhat

Priyanka Chopra Jonas is once again proving that her global journey is showing no signs of slowing down. From returning to Indian cinema with S.S. Rajamouli’s much-awaited Varanasi alongside Superstar Mahesh Babu to announcing the survival thriller Reset opposite Orlando Bloom, the actor has built an increasingly ambitious slate of projects spanning India and the West. Now, she has added another major international title to that list with Bluefly, a sci-fi action thriller that will see her share the screen with Academy Award® winner Russell Crowe.

Directed by Nimród Antal, known for films such as Predators and his work on Stranger Things, Bluefly is written by David Frigerio, William Eubank and Carlyle Eubank. The film is scheduled to begin principal photography later this year on Australia's Gold Coast, with Highland Film Group handling worldwide sales at the Toronto International Film Festival.

The announcement comes at a particularly exciting phase in Priyanka’s career. The actor recently unveiled her first look as Mandakini from S.S. Rajamouli’s Varanasi, creating significant anticipation around her return to Indian cinema. Starring alongside Mahesh Babu, the action-adventure epic marks one of the most awaited collaborations between a leading Indian filmmaker and two major Indian stars.

Adding another international project to her growing slate is Reset, a survival thriller in which Priyanka Chopra Jonas is set to star opposite Orlando Bloom. The project further highlights her continued interest in high-concept, globally mounted stories and keeps her firmly connected to Hollywood’s biggest names.

Priyanka’s recent international run has already delivered notable milestones. She headlined The Bluff, which debuted at No. 1 worldwide on Prime Video, and starred alongside Idris Elba and John Cena in Heads of State. The latter became Prime Video’s fourth most-watched film and has also received an Outstanding Television Movie nomination at the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards. Priyanka herself earned a Best Actress in an Action Movie nomination at the 2026 Critics Choice Super Awards for her performance as Ercell Bodden in The Bluff.

Now comes Bluefly, which promises a very different kind of cinematic experience.

Set against the dangerous landscape of the Congo, the story follows a grieving UN translator who becomes involved in a covert black-ops mission to recover a mysterious downed aircraft. As a Special Operations team travels upriver through militia-controlled territory, the mission takes an increasingly disturbing turn, with the nature of the aircraft raising questions about why it was never supposed to be found.

The film is being produced by Michael Jefferson for Polite Society, David Frigerio for Broken Open Pictures, Deborah Glover for G2 Dispatch, Arianne Fraser and Delphine Perrier for Highland Film Group, and Vanessa Yao Guo. The executive producers include Lia Buman, Guy Davies, RuthAnne Frigerio, Brian Kavanaugh Jones, Jason Kringstein, Katie Leary and Scott Levenson.

Highland Film Group CEO Arianne Fraser described Bluefly as a high-stakes sci-fi thriller driven by its cast and layered storytelling, while director Nimród Antal has characterized the film as an intense, character-driven thriller built around a bold science-fiction premise.

For Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Bluefly represents yet another significant step in a career that increasingly moves effortlessly between Bollywood, Indian cinema and Hollywood. With Varanasi, Reset and Bluefly now part of her expanding slate, the global icon continues to create a career that bridges two major film industries while taking on increasingly diverse and ambitious roles.

#entertainment #hollywood #priyankachopra