Kiara Advani has finally breaks silence on the backlash she faced over her intimate scenes with Yash in ‘Toxic: A Fairy Tale for Grown-Ups’, admitting that the film’s initial response left her emotionally disappointed. The actor discussed the experience during her appearance on ‘Koffee With Karan Season 9’, where she was accompanied by her husband, Sidharth Malhotra. The episode also saw the couple speak about their personal life, including the news of their second pregnancy, which they announced in early October 2026.Speaking to host Karan Johar about the film’s box-office performance and audience response, Kiara admitted that she found it difficult to deal with the reaction during the opening weekend. Despite the film getting off to a strong start, its reception did not match the team’s expectations. Recalling how she felt, she said, “On day one, it is heartbreaking. Especially for this film, because as a team in totality any of us saw this coming. When it misfired despite it opening to what it did. It was heartbreaking for me that first weekend. I was very low about it,”However, the actor also spoke about the positive feedback she received for stepping outside her comfort zone and taking up a role that was different from her previous performances. She added, “But, then, there was a lot of appreciation. The fact that I had gone outside of my comfort zone playing that role. I think in my journey this will be defining.”The conversation also touched upon the controversy surrounding the song ‘Tabaahi’, following which Kiara faced considerable trolling over her intimate scenes with Yash. Several social media users questioned her decision to perform such scenes, bringing her marriage and motherhood into the discussion. Sidharth Malhotra was also dragged into the controversy, with many speculating about how he would have reacted to watching his wife in intimate scenes with another actor.Karan Johar pointed out the gender bias behind such reactions, highlighting how married male actors are seldom subjected to similar scrutiny for performing intimate scenes on screen. Responding to the discussion, Kiara made it clear that Sidharth was never bothered by the controversy and had not even brought up the subject with her. She said, “He had not cared about it. He has never brought it up. We have never spoken about it. It did not affect him, he was not bothered,”The actor also observed that women in the film industry have been subjected to such judgement for years, pointing out that several actresses before her have faced similar scrutiny. Referring to the larger pattern, she said, “It has been happening now for donkey years, for decades. From Aishwarya to so many wonderful actors,”Interestingly, Kiara revealed that she did not feel compelled to justify her choices or respond to the criticism. She was also encouraged by the number of people who called out the hypocrisy surrounding the backlash. Explaining her approach, she said, “What I must touch upon is when I was seeing what was going on the internet, there was a massive reaction of people who had already started calling it out, the hypocrisy, and I really did not feel the need to even justify,”Directed by Geetu Mohandas, ‘Toxic: A Fairy Tale for Grown-Ups’ marked Yash’s first film after the success of ‘KGF: Chapter 2’. Set in post-independence Goa, the gangster drama explores a world of crime, violence, power struggles and shifting loyalties. Yash plays two characters, Raya and his son Rumi, while Kiara portrays Nadia, Rumi’s mother.
