Raya rises!
HL: Raya rises!
Strapline: On his 40th birthday, Yash drops a gritty first look from Toxic, promising guns, grit & a ruthless new universe
Blurb:
Nayanthara’s first-look poster places her at the entrance of a grand casino, gun in hand, framed by opulence and high stakes. The imagery paints Ganga as a woman firmly in control; one who owns the room and calls her own shots.
OB Bureau
Bangalore woke up to a birthday blast on Thursday as Kannada superstar Yash marked his 40th with a gritty reveal from Toxic: A Fairytale for Grown-Ups. The makers dropped the first look of Yash as Raya. And, it’s dark, dangerous and dripping with menace.
Released by KVN Productions, the brief teaser drops viewers into a cemetery soaked in gunfire and tension. Amid flying bullets and ominous visuals, Yash’s Raya stands tall, radiating menace and control. “Get a good look at your danger – Introducing RAYA,” the makers announced, setting the tone for a film that promises to be raw, ruthless and unapologetically intense.
The birthday reveal adds to the growing buzz around Toxic, a project that has steadily built intrigue with its bold casting choices and ambitious scale. Prior to Yash’s reveal, the makers had introduced a formidable line-up of women leading the narrative — Kiara Advani as Nadia, Nayanthara as Ganga, Huma Qureshi as Elizabeth, Rukmini Vasanth as Melissa and Tara Sutaria as Rebecca.
Among them, Nayanthara’s character has been positioned as a defining force in the Toxic universe. Her first-look poster places her at the entrance of a grand casino, gun in hand, framed by opulence and high stakes. The imagery paints Ganga as a woman firmly in control; one who owns the room and calls her own shots.
Director Geetu Mohandas, who has co-written and directed the film, described her collaboration with Nayanthara as deeply organic. In a statement, Mohandas said she wanted to present the actor in a way audiences had never seen before, only to realise during filming that the character’s core qualities mirrored Nayanthara’s own personality. What emerged, she noted, was not performance layered onto character, but an alignment marked by depth, honesty and restraint.
Mohandas was equally reflective while speaking about Tara Sutaria’s casting as Rebecca. She said her instinct was to protect Tara’s guarded nature, choosing not to push or demand but instead allowing her the space to simply be.
That approach, the filmmaker said, resulted in a calm, professional equation and a performance that quietly grew in power. When Tara finally stepped fully into the role, Mohandas admitted she was left completely surprised “in the most beautiful way”.
Beyond its cast, Toxic also marks a significant creative milestone for Yash. In addition to headlining the film, he serves as its co-writer and co-producer, underlining his hands-on involvement in shaping the project. The film is co-produced by Venkat K. Narayana and Yash under KVN Productions and Monster Mind Creations.
Shot simultaneously in Kannada and English, Toxic is being designed as a true pan-Indian and global offering, with dubbed versions planned in Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and other languages.
The technical team backing the film is equally heavyweight, featuring cinematographer Rajeev Ravi, music composer Ravi Basrur, editor Ujwal Kulkarni and production designer TP Abid. Action duties are handled by Hollywood stunt specialist JJ Perry, alongside Anbariv and Kecha Khamphakdee, promising large-scale, stylised combat sequences.
Crucially, Toxic marks Yash’s first project since the record-smashing success of KGF: Chapter 2 in 2022. A film that catapulted him into the top league of Indian commercial cinema. Expectations are sky-high, and the early visuals suggest the actor is keen to break away from familiar moulds and push into darker, more complex territory.
Toxic: A Fairytale for Grown-Ups is slated for a worldwide theatrical release on March 19, strategically timed to coincide with Eid, Ugadi and Gudi Padwa. With its moody aesthetic, powerhouse cast and a star clearly hungry to reinvent himself, Toxic is shaping up as one of the most closely watched releases on the horizon.
HL: Anil Kapoor’s first love? Kannada cinema
Blurb:
Taking a trip down memory lane, Kapoor shared a song clip from the 1983 romantic drama Pallavi Anu Pallavi, on his X handle, recalling his first step into the Kannada film industry
OB Bureau
Veteran star Anil Kapoor is in a reflective mood and for Bangalore’s film lovers, the nostalgia hits close to home. The actor recently marked 43 years of his Kannada debut Pallavi Anu Pallavi, a film that quietly launched a journey which would later span languages, generations and continents.
Taking a trip down memory lane, Kapoor shared a song clip from the 1983 romantic drama on his X handle, recalling his first step into the Kannada film industry. But this wasn’t just about looking back. It was also a ringing endorsement of how far Kannada cinema has travelled since those early days.
“From then to now, it’s incredible to see how Kannada cinema is booming and redefining Indian cinema globally,” Kapoor wrote, saluting Yash, director Prashanth Neel and Rishab Shetty, along with the teams behind KGF and Kantara, for raising the bar. Signing off on a hopeful note, he added that he wished the association with the industry wouldn’t be his last.
The post struck a chord. Rishab Shetty responded warmly, calling Kapoor a “true legend of Indian cinema” and noting that his journey began in Karnataka. He also gave a special shout-out to Pallavi Anu Pallavi, describing it as one of his favourite films.
Released in 1983 and directed by Mani Ratnam, Pallavi Anu Pallavi has long held cult status. The romantic drama didn’t just introduce Anil Kapoor to Kannada audiences, it played a crucial role in shaping his career, opening doors across Indian cinema and laying the foundation for the star he would become.
While the past earned its applause, Kapoor’s future is already making headlines and this time, it’s political cinema calling again. Nearly 25 years after Nayak: The Real Hero stormed screens in 2001, the cult film is officially getting a sequel.
Buzz around Nayak 2 intensified after reports surfaced online about Kapoor acquiring the film’s rights. Now, producer Deepak Mukut has confirmed that the sequel is very much in the works.
HL: Vivek, Rishab plot history
OB Bureau
Fresh casting buzz is swirling around one of Indian cinema’s most ambitious historical projects, and Bangalore has reason to watch this space closely. Reports suggest actor Vivek Oberoi is likely to step into the role of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb in Rishab Shetty’s upcoming epic, The Pride of Bharat: Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.
While there has been no official announcement yet, the speculation has only grown louder after Vivek Oberoi and Rishab Shetty were spotted together multiple times in Dubai. The duo’s back-to-back public appearances have sent fan chatter into overdrive, fuelling anticipation about a collaboration that could add considerable weight to the already high-profile project.
Oberoi and Shetty were first seen attending a Bunts community event in Dubai, where their presence together immediately caught attention. Soon after, Rishab Shetty was also spotted visiting the BNW Developments office, followed by his appearance at the high-profile BNW x Tonino Lamborghini launch. The close succession of sightings has only intensified rumours of creative discussions taking place off-camera.
For fans of historical cinema, the possible casting of Vivek Oberoi as Aurangzeb has sparked curiosity and debate in equal measure. Known for his intense screen presence, Oberoi stepping into the role of one of history’s most formidable and controversial figures would mark a significant turn in his career — and add a powerful antagonist to Rishab Shetty’s vision of the Shivaji Maharaj saga.
Rishab Shetty, riding high after the success of Kantara, has been steadily building scale and ambition with The Pride of Bharat: Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. The film is widely seen as a prestige project, aiming to bring a larger-than-life retelling of the Maratha warrior king’s legacy to the big screen.