'Toxic' director responds to backlash over teaser scene
Geetu Mohandas, director of the upcoming film Toxic: A Fairy Tale for Grown-Ups, is standing by a teaser that sparked controversy for showing an intimate scene between Yash and Beatriz Taufenbach in a car near a cemetery.
Mohandas explained on Instagram that the moment was about "female pleasure, consent," and women "playing systems," adding a photo of Taufenbach with the caption "my cemetery girl."
Online reactions and official complaints
While some online felt Mohandas's comments dodged real concerns—one Reddit user said the female character was "The character in the teaser seemed like some bar dancer who's picked up by Yash's character, f*cked once, and then discarded—and probably a lot of other women like that..."—filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma called her an "ultimate symbol of Women Empowerment."
Meanwhile, AAP's Women's Wing filed a complaint about the teaser, calling it "obscene" and "explicit" and saying it adversely impacts the social well-being of women and children.
Amid the backlash, Taufenbach deactivated her Instagram account.