Geetu Mohandas and Yash’s film Toxic: A Fairy Tale for Grown-Ups was released in theatres this Wednesday. The film opened to lukewarm reviews despite high expectations among fans. Trolls focused on various aspects of the film, with many targeting Rukmini Vasanth over a hinted-at intimate scene. Her fans defended her online and called out those targeting her.
(Also Read: ‘I write something, shoot something else’: Internet digs up old video of Geetu Mohandas talking about Yash’s Toxic)
Trolling over Rukmini Vasanth’s scene in Toxic
Rukmini’s character, Mellisa, is introduced much later in Toxic than the other female leads. She initially meets Yash’s Raya with the intention of causing him harm, but they become lovers later on. The intimacy between Mellisa and Raya is only implied in the film, unlike other sensual scenes. The characters even have a child later in the tale.
And yet, trolls began making comments such as, “Rukmini didn’t expect this from you,” and “Rukmini Vasanth is a kind of girl, who gives the vibe of “Wife Material” attire for many boys, most of men wouldn’t have seen or thought about her in sexual or physical way of mindset.” They also added, “She’s the one, who makes us feel so comfortable with her presence & purity, couldn’t able to digest for the role she has accepted in #Toxic, she has not done that glamorous in the movie like Kiara, but still this impact is not accepted or crossed easily.” Some even posted memes of people crying during Rukmini’s perceived intimate scene.
Fans defend her against moral policing
Rukmini’s fans, however, came to her defence once the chatter over her scenes in Toxic gained momentum. “There is no kissing or love-making scene for #RukminiVasanth in #Toxic. These people are making unnecessary comments like, “We didn’t expect this from you.” It’s all just impression-begging. Btw, @rukminitweets, you should’ve never done this s**tty film,” commented one fan on X (formerly Twitter).
“Rukmini pls do more roles like this it feels so good to watch these incels cry lol,” wrote one fan, while another commented, “Imagine crying online bcs an actress who didn’t even know u existed didn’t check with ur moral compass first. Clown behavior.” One person pointed out, “This mental illness of creating parasocial relationships with celebrities is something that needs to be studied.” One X user called out the ‘wife material’ post, writing, “Wow.. Such an insane toxicity from this tweet. You want a wife with “purity” and not “sexual”. And then what? She has to be cute, obedient, and walk on tiptoes?”
Apart from Yash and Rukmini, Toxic also stars Kiara Advani, Nayanthara, Huma Qureshi, and Tara Sutaria. Despite the negative reviews, it collected over ₹100 crore domestically and ₹140 crore worldwide.