Director Geetu Mohandas, who is awaiting the release of Toxic: A Fairy Tale for Grown-Ups has revealed how her experience working with Yash on the actioner pushed her filmmaking in an entirely new direction, blending the sensibilities of commercial cinema with the influence of acclaimed world cinema.
Speaking about the creative process behind the film, Geetu said she had previously been part of several prestigious writing labs, including the Sundance Lab and the Rotterdam Lab. "I loved those experiences and was mesmerised by them. But I was never prepared for Yash’s lab. It was on another level because of the madness that came out of that experiment," she said.
According to Geetu, the collaboration involved an interesting exchange of cinematic influences. "He showed me Padayappa, and I showed him In the Mood for Love. It became a sort of dance between two worlds—the world of Wong Kar-wai and commercial cinema," she noted.
“Somewhere in between that, we found our rhythm,” Geetu said, explaining how this creative exchange eventually helped them discover the tone and characters of Toxic.
Geetu also recalled how Yash’s insistence on having everything written down changed her own approach to filmmaking. She described herself as an organic filmmaker who would typically begin writing and then gradually refine the material. However, Yash constantly pushed her to put everything on paper.
"Everyone sitting here magically transformed. I can assure you that all the superstars and actors who are part of Toxic will be seen in a different version of themselves because there is so much innate drama and psychology hidden within those pages," she added.
Geetu concluded by confidently stating that the film will present a new version of its leading man: “I can promise all of you—and proudly say this—it will be Yash 2.0 in Toxic.”
Toxic: A Fairy Tale for Grown-Ups marks Geetu Mohandas' first film in the Kannada industry. It is her third film as a director, the first two being the critically appreciated Liar's Dice and Moothon.
Shot in Kannada and English, the upcoming film also stars Nayanthara, Kiara Advani, Huma Qureshi, Rukmini Vasanth, Tara Sutaria, Akshay Oberoi, Sudev Nair, and Balaji Manohar, among others. Backed by Venkat K Narayana of KVN Productions and Yash's own Monster Mind Creations banner, the film is slated for an August 26 release in theatres worldwide. It is also expected to have dubbed versions in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, and Malayalam.