British actor Benedict Garrett stars in Geetu Mohandas’ upcoming Kannada-English film Toxic: A Fairy Tale for Grown-Ups. He made a video slamming trolls who criticised Kiara Advani and praised Yash over the recently released song, Tabaahi, from the film. Pointing out that Yash is married and a father too, something Kiara received flak for while doing romantic scenes, Benedict called out the hypocrisy at play.
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In a video released on his Instagram account, Benedict slammed trolls for criticising Kiara. He called them out for their double standards, stating, “I’ve seen people praising Yash, filling his comments with fire emojis and saying how amazing he looks. But when it comes to Kiara Advani, she’s become the butt of jokes. People are saying things like, oh, she only just got married, she’s a mother, she’s on a honeymoon instead of Sidharth Malhotra. Seriously?” He also wrote in his caption, “Why is Kiara Advani being attacked for doing her job, while Yash is being praised for doing exactly the same thing?”
Benedict pointed out that Yash is married too, adding, “You see, Yash, he’s also married, he also has children. So why is only the woman getting the abuse, while the man apparently gets the applause? Listen, here’s the reality check. They are actors. Their job is to act, to portray characters, to make you believe that they are in love, even when they’re not. Their job is to tell stories that reflect the human experience.” He also wrote in his caption, “The backlash over the Tabahi music video says far more about society than it does about either actor.”
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Elsewhere in the video, Benedict stated that Kiara and Sidharth both must have an understanding that their job involves showing romance, intimacy, kissing, and even simulated sex on screen. “They’re not criticising her for her acting. They’re criticising her for being somebody’s wife, for being somebody’s mother. As though marriage somehow means an actress should stop acting. That is ridiculous,” said the actor, adding, “The problem is not her professionalism. It’s the double standards and the hypocrisy of the people attacking her.”
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Toxic has been a project embroiled in scandal from the get-go due to the extreme reactions to its promotional material. The film’s posters and trailers have featured violence and sensuous scenes in equal measure, attracting criticism from all quarters. Recently, after Tabaahi’s video song was released, it ruffled feathers again due to romantic scenes between Kiara and Yash, with the former in particular getting trolled. Also starring Nayanthara, Huma Qureshi, Tara Sutaria and Rukmini Vasanth, Toxic will be released in theatres on August 26.
