Kiara Advani's co-star defended her against backlash for intimate scenes in 'Toxic: A Fairy Tale for Grown-ups' with co-star, Yash.
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Add BollywoodShaadis on GoogleKiara Advani is all set to return to the silver screen following a hiatus due to her daughter's birth. The actress will be back with a bang in the action-thriller Toxic: A Fairy Tale for Grown-ups, releasing on August 26, 2026. Ahead of that, the sizzling song, Tabaahi, was released to heighten the buzz around the movie. But it instead sparked backlash against the actress for her intimate scenes with lead actor, Yash. Amid the hate train against Kiara, her co-star has come to her defense, calling out the disparity in how male and female actors are treated.
British actor and Kiara Advani's co-star in Toxic, Benedict Garrett spoke out for her after days of backlash that she received for Tabaahi music video. The intense trolling was particularly focused on her participating in steamy, intimate sequences with Yash despite being a married woman and a mother. They policed her project choices, arguing that she should not perform such roles due to her real-life status. The trolls have flooded Kiara's Instagram comment section with vile remarks, claiming she wronged her husband, Sidharth Malhotra, by getting too close to Yash on-screen.
Benedict Garrett addressed the same on Instagram and called out the difference in the treatment towards Yash and Kiara. He posted a video on Instagram calling out the blatant gender bias and hypocrisy of the audience. He pointed out that while male lead Yash was widely praised with "fire emojis" for his presence in the exact same intimate sequences, only Kiara became "the butt of jokes." Benedict called out the distasteful jabs made at a woman who was just doing her job. His exact words were:
"I've seen people praising Yash, filling his comments with fire emojis and saying how amazing he looks. But when it comes to Kiara Advani, she's become the butt of jokes. People are saying things like, oh, she only just got married, she's a mother, she's on a honeymoon instead of Sidharth Malhotra. Seriously?"
According to Benedict Garrett, if Kiara received the backlash only because she was married with a child, then the same applies to Yash. For the unversed, he is married to actress Radhika Pandit, with whom he has two children, a daughter named Ayra and a son named Yatharv. Nevertheless, the actor received only praises for his sizzling scenes in the Tabaahi song and in the movie's trailer, which made the hate against Kiara seem unethical. Regarding that, Benedict stated:
"You see, Yash, he's also married, he also has children. So why is only the woman getting the abuse, while the man apparently gets the applause? Listen, here's the reality check. They are actors. Their job is to act, to portray characters, to make you believe that they are in love, even when they're not. Their job is to tell stories that reflect the human experience."
Directed by Geetu Mohandas, Toxic: A Fairytale for Grown-Ups is positioned as an action thriller with a strong ensemble cast, making it one of the most anticipated Indian releases on the horizon. The film has been filmed simultaneously in Kannada and English and will also be released in dubbed versions across Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, and other languages.
The film also boasts an accomplished technical crew, including cinematographer Rajeev Ravi, music composer Ravi Basrur, editor Ujwal Kulkarni, and production designer TP Abid. Its action sequences have been designed by renowned stunt choreographers JJ Perry, Anbariv, and Kecha Khamphakdee.
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Also Read: 'Toxic' Cast Fees, Know How Much Kiara, Nayanthara, Huma, And Tara Took Home From The Yash Starrer