Kiara Advani and Sidharth Malhotra were the guests on Koffee With Karan's latest episode.
Karan Johar's chat show is in its final season.
Advani spoke at length about the discourse around her intimate scenes in Toxic and the film's dismal box office run.
Kiara Advani has broken her silence regarding the intense social media backlash she endured over her intimate sequences alongside co-star Yash in Geetu Mohandas' Toxic. At the same time, the actress frankly reflected on the project's tepid commercial run, acknowledging that the lackluster box office reception left the entire cast and crew devastated, particularly because everyone involved had expected a far warmer response following its staggering initial opening.
Kiara Advani On Toxic's Box Office Disaster
During a candid sit-down with filmmaker Karan Johar on his chat show, Koffee With Karan, Advani delved into the emotional toll that Toxic’s lukewarm reception took on her right from the outset. Explaining how deeply the sudden downturn affected her morale, she remarked, "On Day 1, it was heartbreaking and especially for this film, because I think as a team in totality, I don't think any of us saw it coming. When it misfired, despite it opening to what it did. That weekend, I was very low about it, but then there was a lot of appreciation for the fact that I had gone out of my comfort zone for playing a role. I think, in my journey, this will be defining."
Beyond the film's financial performance, Advani directly confronted the double standards exhibited by online detractors who targeted her for performing bold, intimate moments on screen. Notably, she shared that her spouse, actor Sidharth Malhotra, remained entirely unfazed by the digital noise and never treated her artistic choices as a point of contention in their marriage. Offering insight into how his steady demeanor anchored her during the controversy, she explained, "I think I actually fed off his (Sidharth Malhotra's) energy because he had not cared about it. He's never brought it up. We've never spoken about this. It didn't affect him. He was not bothered," she said.
Advani also placed the backlash within a broader historical context, noting that female performers in the industry have long been subjected to disproportionate moral policing. She took the example of accomplished stars like Aishwarya Rai Bachchan as examples of women who navigated similar public scrutiny.
Still, Advani found solace in observing a noticeable shift in online discourse, as numerous netizens also actively pushed back against the regressive criticism aimed at her. Reflecting on why she ultimately chose not to issue a defensive statement, she concluded, "When I was seeing what was going on on the Internet, there was a massive reaction from people who had already started calling it out. Calling out the hypocrisy, and I really didn't feel the need to even justify it."
During the rapid-fire round, Johar asked Kiara Advani, "In one line or less, the one thing you want to tell trolls who say, 'Married female actors should not do intimate scenes?'" She quipped, "Grow up."
