# Yash’s Toxic faces criticism over portrayal of women 2026-08-21T18:12:15+00:00 | Entertainment | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 2 independent outlets Veteran filmmaker SV Rajendra Singh Babu has defended Yash's upcoming film Toxic: A Fairy Tale for Grown-Ups after his daughter, actor Rishika Singh, criticised its portrayal of women. Cinema Express reports that Rajendra Singh Babu called Rishika's comments her personal opinion and said, "We should all be proud of the films Yash is making." He praised Yash as the "Kohinoor diamond" of Kannada cinema. Hindustan Times reports that Yash himself addressed the backlash at a pre-release event, saying the film is misunderstood and that women "will have a blast" watching it. The criticism stems from the trailer and song Tabaahi, which some viewers accuse of pandering to the male gaze and showing women in limited roles. The film's advance bookings opened on August 21 and have reportedly grossed Rs 18 crore. Toxic, directed by Geetu Mohandas and starring Yash in a double role alongside Nayanthara, Kiara Advani and others, is one of the most expensive Kannada films ever made. It is scheduled for worldwide release on August 26. ## Indian Opinion Analysis Cinema Express frames the controversy through the father-daughter lens, emphasising Rajendra Singh Babu's full-throated support for Yash while presenting Rishika's criticism as a personal opinion, subtly sidelining her concerns. Hindustan Times leads with Yash's defiant promise that girls will enjoy the film, but also gives space to viewer accusations of misogyny and the trolling faced by Kiara Advani. The measured read: Rishika Singh's critique and social media backlash are real, but neither source reports any formal protest or boycott. The key number to watch is the film's box office opening on August 26, which will indicate whether the controversy hurts or helps ticket sales. Implication for the reader: this is a test of whether Kannada cinema's biggest star can weather a gender-representation controversy. Watch for first-day collections and audience word-of-mouth, especially from women viewers. ## Coverage Coverage: 2 sources, 2 neutral - cinemaexpress.com (neutral report) Reports father's defence and daughter's criticism without commentary, but gives more space to the pro-Yash framing. - hindustantimes.com (neutral report) Reports Yash's response and backlash details factually, but the byline's tone leans towards gossip-style framing. This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above. Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources. Last updated 2026-08-23T11:31:27+00:00. Tags: Cinema Express, Kannada cinema, Rishika Singh, SV Rajendra Singh Babu, Toxic: A Fairy Tale for Grown-Ups, Yash Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/rajendra-singh-babu-backs-yash-calls-toxic-a-pride-for-kannada-cinema/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/rajendra-singh-babu-backs-yash-calls-toxic-a-pride-for-kannada-cinema/#story-in-brief How this brief was made: an AI model read the reports linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. Stance labels are editorial classifications of how each outlet framed this story, assigned by the same model, not ratings of the outlets. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/