Yash unveiled the trailer for his much-awaited film Toxic at a grand event in Bengaluru on Saturday evening, with the video dropping at 7:01 pm and actor-host Danish Sait running the show.

Directed by Geetu Mohandas, the film casts Yash in dual roles, playing a father and son on opposite sides of a violent conflict, according to Variety. The trailer leans into a dark, crime-soaked world built around power and betrayal, with Yash’s characters named Raya and Ticket.

The ensemble cast includes Kiara Advani, Nayanthara, Huma Qureshi, Tara Sutaria and Rukmini Vasanth, each playing key roles in the story. At the launch, the actors traded praise for one another in front of the crowd.

Yash thanked Nayanthara for her work on the film, telling her it “takes a lot of grace to do what you have done.” He also singled out Kiara Advani, calling her down to earth and saying she had fully surrendered to the film’s vision.

Nayanthara returned the compliment, calling Toxic one of the best projects of her career and telling Advani there is “a Kiara before and a Kiara going to be after Toxic.” Advani, in turn, credited Mohandas and Yash, saying she felt the role of Nadia was written for her.

The trailer’s reception online has been mixed. Some viewers praised the scale, visuals and performances, with several calling it “pure fire” on social media. Others were less convinced, with some critics describing parts of the promo as overdone and questioning whether the film can live up to the hype it has generated over the past year.

Toxic is set for a worldwide theatrical release on August 26, positioning it as one of the biggest Kannada-language releases of the year. The film has drawn comparisons to Ranbir Kapoor’s Animal for its violent tone, comparisons that director Ram Gopal Varma weighed in on earlier this year, arguing Yash’s film could go even further.

With the trailer now out and the release date fewer than three weeks away, attention will shift to advance bookings and how the film performs against the rest of the year’s big Kannada and pan-India releases.