Highlights
- Kiara Advani says women on screen should not be confined to stereotypes.
- The actress describes her role as Nadia in Toxic as one that offered exceptional emotional depth.
- Toxic stars Yash and is set for a worldwide theatrical release on 26 August.
Ahead of the release of Toxic, Kiara Advani has spoken about the need for more layered female characters in cinema, saying women deserve to be portrayed as complex individuals rather than being reduced to stereotypes.
The actress, who plays Nadia in the upcoming action thriller, said the role stood out because it allowed her to explore a wide emotional range, something she believes every actor looks for in a character.
Kiara Advani calls for more nuanced female characters
Speaking to Femina, Kiara said she was immediately drawn to Toxic after hearing director Geetu Mohandas' narration.
"When I finally heard the narration, I was mesmerised by how well fleshed out this character was," she said.
Describing Nadia as one of the most demanding roles of her career, Kiara explained that the character required her to portray strength, vulnerability, madness, sensitivity and emotional detachment within a single performance.
She added that she felt she had reached a stage in her career where she was ready to take on such a challenging part.
Kiara also used the opportunity to speak about the portrayal of women in films.
"I don't like stereotyping women in a box. We are so much more than that, so why shouldn't our characters be," she said, calling for female characters to be written with greater realism and emotional depth.
Actress praises Toxic's female-led ensemble
Kiara also highlighted the experience of sharing the screen with Nayanthara, Huma Qureshi, Tara Sutaria and Rukmini Vasanth, describing the collaboration as "incredibly refreshing".
She said each actor brought a distinct energy to the project, adding that audiences would enjoy seeing multiple women with individual personalities sharing the same cinematic world.
According to Kiara, the atmosphere on set encouraged the cast to push creative boundaries, making the experience one of the most rewarding of her career.
What to expect from Toxic
Written by Yash and Geetu Mohandas and directed by Mohandas, Toxic is an action thriller centred on a father-son rivalry.
The multilingual film has been shot simultaneously in Kannada and English, with dubbed versions planned in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and several other languages.
The cast includes Yash, Kiara Advani, Nayanthara, Huma Qureshi, Tara Sutaria and Rukmini Vasanth. The film features cinematography by Rajeev Ravi, music by Ravi Basrur and action choreography by Hollywood stunt director JJ Perry alongside National Award-winning duo Anbariv and Kecha Khamphakdee.
Toxic is scheduled to release in cinemas worldwide on 26 August.
