“I believe in one thing… now there is no more Kannada, Tamil, Telugu division… ‘Toxic’ is an Indian film,” opens Yash, the pan-Indian superstar, who rather than banking on his stardom, is risking everything that he has built over the decades to put an Indian film on the global stage.“This movie is not Yash’s film, this is an Indian film, where all the top stars, where all the successful people have kept their insecurities, their goals and even their self-interest aside to just come with one cause,” he adds.No starry airs, Yash bows down to the stage before stepping onto it, speaks in Kannada before switching to English, takes self-deprecating digs at himself multiple times, and then opens up about the larger vision he has for ‘Toxic’.After ‘KGF’ transformed him into global phenomenon, he risked it all on an experimental, edgy plot. “It is not a perfect commercial package film,” he admits. He describes it as “a very unique combination and very unique attempt.”And in this attempt, he literally threw every caution to the winds. The film, which he has co-written and co-produced, and in which he plays a dual role, has Geetu Mohandas as its director. “I always believe in a director’s passion than their past success,” Yash says. “When I see people, all I see is if they are passionate, if they are able to dedicate their time and energy and believe in what they believe. That’s it. That makes me go for it.”That is what he saw in Geetu — “a burning passion, desire” and the determination to show the world what she could do. A woman helming a gangster saga is a philosophy that mirrors Yash’s own journey. His career has been built on betting on himself.“When you want to do something in life, nothing should stop you,” he says. If someone tells him something cannot be done, he sees “that person’s lack of imagination.”’Toxic’ demanded that conviction. Yash reveals that the film involved around 200 days of shooting, across two versions — Kannada and English. “You know my English, yaaa…,” he laughs. “Making a film itself is like you are going through a war against the whole world.” There were delays and rumours along the way, but Yash insists the team kept pushing because the objective was never simply to finish the film.His own performance demanded huge. He warmly acknowledges his wife Radhika Pandit’s role in this journey. “I want to thank my wife. It’s not easy to be my friend. It’s not easy to be associated with me in any way. Trust me, I’m a very difficult person to be with. On top of it, this particular film was very demanding. I had 2-3 different looks and too much time was required. Radhika managed all the responsibilities and still managed to be a huge support for me. Thank you so much. Nothing will go to waste,” he promises.He speaks at length about the contributions of his ensemble rather than simply presenting himself as the centre of the film. He also takes the bull by the horns, addressing controversies around the film. The very bold song ‘Tabaahi’ saw people trolling Kiara Advani, a wife and mother, for doing such hot scenes, while not many called out Yash, a much married man with kids as well. He tells Kiara, “It’s unfortunate what you had to go through. Trust me, people will celebrate, people will appreciate. It is just that we are ahead of times.”He thanks Nayanthara, applauds her for showing up to promote the film — something she rarely does. He calls Huma Qureshi the “brand ambassador of ‘Toxic’,” admits he has “learned a lot” from Akshay Oberoi, and credits Sudev Nair for stepping in whenever shooting schedules went haywire. He speaks with pride about Karnataka girl Rukmini Vasanth and her journey.He promises his fans that he doesn’t take their love for granted, and assures them that ‘Toxic’ “is going to blow your mind.”’Toxic’ hits cinemas on August 26.Yash, in his team’s eyes“He is passion in motion and hard work in motion. And that is contagious and infectious.” — Venkat K. Narayana, co-producer“I walked onto the set as a fangirl, but you invited me as a collaborator. Thank you for that generosity. That is the spirit I will carry onto every set I work on — to be a strong collaborator.” — Rukmini Vasanth“Rocky bhai… the first time I met Yash, I saw that the larger-than-life image of him is exactly how he is in person. Beyond that, I have never ever seen a more hardworking actor. I have so much love and respect for you, Yash — for the actor you are, the producer you are, the human being you are, the husband you are, and the family man and father you are. I have huge respect for you. You are where you are today because of your incredible hard work.” — Nayanthara“Yash to me is not just my wonderful producer, not just a brilliant actor or an amazing co-writer. Yash, to me, is an emotion — a very deep emotion. I don’t know what my path is going to be after this movie, but I am going to carry a part of you with me in everything I do.” — Geetu Mohandas