Director Geetu Mohandas has responded to criticism over his portrayal of a female character in the teaser of his upcoming film Toxic: A Fairy Tale for Grown-ups. Controversy arose when the promo showed gangster hero Raya (played by Yash) having sex with a female character inside a car, while violence was unfolding outside.

The scene attracted a lot of attention on social media.

Following the online backlash, Mohandas addressed the criticism through a cryptic message on his Instagram Stories. “I get chills when people think about female pleasure, consent, the way women play, etc. etc.,” she wrote.

Later, Mohandas revealed the identity of the female character at the center of the controversy. “This beauty is my graveyard girl,” he confirmed on Instagram, sharing a photo of Beatriz Bach.

Some social media users accused Mohandas of spreading misogyny. These critics argued that the scene failed to bring a new perspective to the portrayal of women in cinema and instead relied on familiar stereotypes.

On the contrary, a section of social media users defended Mohandas by saying toxic is deliberately stylized and the tone is significantly darker than his previous work. Proponents argued that filmmakers should have the creative freedom to explore different artistic approaches, including complex or controversial subjects.

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Director Ram Gopal Varma praised Mohandas’s bold creative choices. He posted on

Toxic: A Fairy Tale for Adults Venkat K through KVN Productions and Monster Mind Creations. Produced by Narayan and Yash. The film is written and shot in Kannada and English, and will also be dubbed in Hindi, Telugu, Tamil and Malayalam.

The cast includes Yash along with Nayanthara, Huma Qureshi, Kiara Advani, Tara Sutaria and Rukmini Vasanth.