The makers of Toxic: A Fairy Tale for Grown-Ups have unveiled the film’s first song, Tabaahi, bringing Yash and Kiara Advani together in a visually striking and emotionally charged music video. The song has added a new dimension to the growing conversation around the upcoming action drama, which is scheduled to arrive in theatres on August 26.
More than just introducing the musical world of the film, Tabaahi offers audiences a closer look at the relationship dynamic between its lead characters. Set against scenic locations, vintage vehicles, dramatic architecture and atmospheric lighting, the song combines romance, longing and tension. Since its release, much of the online discussion has centred on the screen presence and chemistry shared by Yash and Kiara Advani.
Tabaahi builds a dark and passionate world
Running for approximately four minutes and 26 seconds, Tabaahi unfolds with the mood of a cinematic romantic drama rather than a conventional song-and-dance sequence. The music video opens with a well-known line attributed to 13th-century Persian poet Rumi:
“Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I’ll meet you there.”
The opening immediately establishes the song’s emotional atmosphere. What follows is a series of intimate and dramatic moments between the two lead characters, with the visuals placing their relationship at the centre of the narrative.
Yash and Kiara are seen sharing affectionate moments across different settings, including a serene beach, a vintage car and picturesque roads. The visual treatment relies heavily on the contrast between grand landscapes and close, personal moments, giving the song an immersive quality.
One of the striking elements of Tabaahi is its production design. The video features European-inspired architecture, retro streets, classic automobiles, carnival imagery and carefully designed mood lighting. These details contribute to a world that feels stylised and cinematic while also appearing closely connected to the film’s larger visual identity.
The presence of a red retro convertible, old-world streets and elaborate carnival settings gives the song a distinctive period-inspired texture. Rather than relying solely on glamorous imagery, the video uses its locations and production design to reinforce the song’s darker romantic mood.
Yash and Kiara Advani become the focus of the conversation
The biggest talking point surrounding Tabaahi has been the chemistry between Yash and Kiara Advani. Their scenes together are designed around intensity, attraction and emotional conflict, making their relationship a key element of the song.
Yash appears in a rugged avatar, with long hair, a thick beard and leather-heavy styling that adds to the character’s imposing presence. Kiara, meanwhile, is presented in elegant costumes that complement the film’s vintage and period-inspired aesthetic.
Their contrasting screen personas work as an important visual device in the song. While Yash’s appearance projects a rough and guarded personality, Kiara’s styling adds a sense of sophistication and mystery. The result is a screen pairing that appears central to the emotional stakes of the film.
Social-media reactions to the song have varied, particularly regarding its music and presentation. However, the response has consistently highlighted the visual appeal of the video and the attention drawn by the lead pair’s interactions. For many viewers, Tabaahi functions as an early glimpse into the romantic tension that may play an important role in Toxic: A Fairy Tale for Grown-Ups.
Nayanthara and Tara Sutaria add intrigue
While Yash and Kiara dominate much of the song, Tabaahi also includes appearances by other members of the film’s ensemble.
Nayanthara appears briefly in the video and seems to be connected closely to Yash’s character, suggesting a relationship built on trust and loyalty. Her limited appearance is enough to add another layer of curiosity about how the larger ensemble will fit into the film’s story.
Tara Sutaria makes a dramatic appearance later in the song. In one balcony sequence, her character asks Yash’s character:
“Tumhare jaise khudgarz insaan ko bhi kabhi kisi se pyaar ho sakta hai?”
The question challenges the emotional nature of Yash’s character. His response is brief and direct:
“Chance hi nahin.”
The exchange translates broadly to a question about whether a self-centred person like him could ever truly fall in love, followed by a firm rejection of the possibility. The dialogue adds to the song’s recurring theme of love existing alongside emotional resistance, danger and conflict.
This combination of romance and confrontation is also reflected in the title Tabaahi, which translates to devastation or destruction. The song appears to frame love not as something simple or comforting, but as a force capable of changing and destabilising those caught in it.
Vishal Mishra describes Tabaahi as ‘love as wreckage’
Tabaahi has been composed and sung by Vishal Mishra, with the Hindi lyrics written by Raj Shekhar.
The song has been released across multiple Indian languages, expanding its reach beyond a single regional market. The Kannada lyrics have been adapted by Yogaraj Bhat, the Telugu version by Ramajogayya Sastry, the Tamil version by Vignesh Shivan, and the Malayalam lyrics by Rafeeq Ahammed.
Speaking about the creative approach behind the song, Vishal Mishra described Tabaahi as a portrayal of love in its most destructive and overwhelming form.
He said the song was not intended to be a conventional romantic number, instead describing its emotional foundation as “love as wreckage, as surrender” and a form of passion that refuses to remain controlled.
Mishra also explained that the film required music capable of carrying both epic scale and emotional intimacy. His comments suggest that Tabaahi is intended not merely as a promotional release but as a musical expression of the emotional world created for Toxic.
The track’s structure and visuals reflect that ambition. It moves between large-scale cinematic settings and personal interactions, attempting to balance spectacle with the emotional vulnerability of its central characters.
Yash once spoke about his approach to romantic scenes
The release of Tabaahi has also brought renewed attention to comments Yash previously made about performing romantic scenes on screen.
During an appearance on actor Ramesh Aravind’s talk show Weekend With Ramesh, Yash spoke openly about how romance has traditionally been one of the more challenging areas of acting for him.
He said that he was often surprised when viewers told him he appeared comfortable performing romantic scenes. According to the actor, he used to feel particularly nervous while shooting such moments.
Yash also discussed a personal boundary that has guided his choices throughout his career. He explained that if he would feel uncomfortable watching a particular scene with his parents present, he would generally avoid performing it.
His comments offer an interesting contrast to the highly charged presentation of Tabaahi. The song depends heavily on romantic tension and emotional intensity, but Yash’s previously stated approach suggests that he has long maintained personal considerations regarding the boundaries of his on-screen performances.
For viewers, that context adds another dimension to the conversation around Tabaahi. The song may be designed to project heightened passion, but the actor has previously spoken about approaching such material with his own set of professional and personal limits.
What Tabaahi reveals about Toxic
Directed by Geetu Mohandas, Toxic: A Fairy Tale for Grown-Ups is positioned as a large-scale period gangster drama. The film has also been co-written by Mohandas and Yash.
The project brings together an extensive cast that includes Yash, Kiara Advani, Nayanthara, Huma Qureshi, Tara Sutaria, Rukmini Vasanth, Tovino Thomas, Akshay Oberoi, Darrell D’Silva, Sudev Nair, Balaji Manohar, Kyle Paul, Beatriz Taufenbach, Surjith Gopinath and Amit Tiwari, among others.
The film was shot simultaneously in Kannada and English and is also planned for release in dubbed versions across Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and other languages.
Produced by KVN Productions and Monster Mind Creations, Toxic: A Fairy Tale for Grown-Ups is one of the major upcoming projects featuring Yash following the enormous attention surrounding his previous work.
With Tabaahi, the makers have chosen to introduce audiences to the film through romance rather than action alone. That decision is notable for a project being described as a gangster drama. The song suggests that the emotional relationships between its characters may be as important to the film’s world as its larger-scale action and conflict.
A visually ambitious first song
As the first major song release from Toxic, Tabaahi succeeds in generating conversation around several aspects of the film at once: Yash’s new look, Kiara Advani’s screen presence, the visual scale of the production and the emotional complexity of the central relationship.
Its biggest strength lies in its atmosphere. From vintage cars and old-world architecture to dramatic carnival imagery and expansive outdoor locations, the music video is designed to create a distinct cinematic identity.
The response to the song’s music may differ from viewer to viewer, but there is little doubt that its visual ambition and the pairing of Yash and Kiara Advani have become major points of discussion.
With the film’s release approaching, Tabaahi has offered audiences an early indication of the tone that Toxic: A Fairy Tale for Grown-Ups is aiming to achieve: dramatic, romantic, visually stylised and emotionally intense.
The song has therefore done more than simply introduce a new soundtrack. It has expanded curiosity around the characters, their relationships and the larger world of Toxic, ensuring that the film remains firmly on the radar of cinema audiences ahead of its theatrical release.
