Kiara Advani has opened up about her experience filming ‘Toxic: A Fairy Tale For Grown-Ups’, revealing that director Geetu Mohandas imposed an unusual rule on set that prevented her from exchanging greetings with cast and crew members.

The actress, who stars opposite Yash in the highly anticipated action drama, said the filmmaker wanted her to remain immersed in her character throughout filming. The revelation comes as audiences await a new release date for the project, which was recently postponed after being scheduled to arrive in cinemas on June 4. 

Speaking about the making of the film, Advani reflected on Mohandas' distinctive approach to directing and the challenges of working in Kannada for the first time.

Geetu Mohandas wanted actors to stay in character

During an interview with Bombay Times, Advani said Mohandas discouraged her from engaging in her usual friendly interactions on set in an effort to help her stay focused on her role.

“Geetu is like, okay, tomorrow when you come on set, I want you to be… and I'm a person when I walk on set, I'm always like, ‘Hi, what's up, good morning', I'm that person. And she's like, ‘I don't want pleasantries, I want you to come in that zone, no hi hello, not your team, nobody, just be in a zone today',” Kiara Advani said.

The actress explained that the filmmaker's instructions were intended to maintain the emotional and psychological state required for her performance rather than create distance among the cast and crew.

Kannada dialogues proved a major challenge

Advani also discussed the demands of filming ‘Toxic’ in two languages, describing the process as one of the most challenging aspects of the project.

“Working in Kannada, I think I would say Toxic has been challenging because it's for the first time that we shot in both English and Kannada,” she said.

According to the actress, scenes were first performed in English before being recreated in Kannada. As Kannada is not her native language, she had to spend significant time memorising her lines before filming.

The actress continued, “So this shot was an English shot first till we got the take right. Then we do the Kannada take, because you're, at least for someone like me, Kannada not being my language, mugging up my dialogues literally the night before.”

Similarities between Kannada, Telugu and Hindi film industries

Despite the language barrier, Advani said her overall experience working in the Kannada film industry was not dramatically different from her work in Hindi cinema.

Reflecting on the cultural differences, she suggested that common ground outweighed distinctions between regional industries.

“I think eventually there may be slight cultural differences, but I feel eventually at the core we're all Indians, so there's a similarity, there's a familiarity," she explained.

The actress added, “I feel I've had a fairly similar experience with working in Hindi and in Telugu language.”

‘Toxic’ awaits new release date

‘Toxic: A Fairy Tale For Grown-Ups’ marks one of the most anticipated Indian releases of the year and stars Yash in the lead role. The film is produced by KVN Productions and Monster Mind Creations.

Watch teaser:

Alongside Yash and Advani, the ensemble cast includes Nayanthara, Huma Qureshi, Rukmini Vasanth and Tara Sutaria in key roles.

The film was originally slated for a June 4, 2026 theatrical release after facing multiple delays. However, the release has now been postponed once again, with the makers yet to announce a revised date.