Yash's "Toxic" Sparks Row Over Trees Felling In Bangalore

The production team has responded to the backlash they have been receiving. They released a statement that says they had taken permission for the shoot. But this did not go well with the public.

The KGF star Yash is in the news again for his upcoming big-budget film, Toxic directed by Geetu Mohandas scheduled to release in April 2025. The film's production has sparked an ongoing dispute between the Karnataka Forest Department and Hindustan Machine Tools (HMT) after allegedly 100 trees were felled to make way for the movie set.

On Tuesday, in a letter to the Additional Chief Secretary, Forest, Ecology, and Environment Minister Eshwar Khandre addressed concerns over 599 acres of forest land, now occupied by HMT. Khandres's letter further noted that the HMT has been renting the land for commercial purposes. He called for satellite images to assess the extension of the deforestation and to verify if any permissions were granted. If trees were cut without clearance, Khandre requested the charges be filed for forest law violations.

Last Friday, the forest department took the first step by regaining possession of five acres of the 599 acres of land in Peenya plantation surveys 1 and 2. The 599 acres had been designated as a reserved forest in May 1896 and 1901, but the Forest Department says that the land was never denotified as non-forest. The state government has said it would recover the land and turn it into a Cubbon Park-like green space in northern Bangalore.

The production team has responded to the backlash they have been receiving. They released a statement that says they had taken permission for the shoot. But this did not go well with the public as Bengaluru is a city which is known for having vast areas of forest and lush green trees and cutting them just for the sake of a film shoot is something people are not ready to get convinced about.

The issue, however, raises larger questions about tree cover and environment conservation policies in the rapidly expanding city of Bengaluru. Environmentalists stress that there should be more restrictions on the cutting of trees and get filmmakers to water the surroundings in their future locations.

While this situation develops, it's questionable how the filmmakers will respond in addressing the discontent shown and whether there will be further response measures from authorities. The episode is a testimony of the persistent struggle between the constructive measures of development and conservation of nature and seeks contemplation of the dilemmas faced by filmmakers when nature is used as a material resource.