Costume Designer Neha Bajaj Shapes 1940s to 1970s Visual World for Yash Film Toxic
Costume designer Neha Bajaj has developed the visual world and period wardrobes spanning the 1940s to the 1970s for director Geetu Mohandas' film Toxic in Bengaluru. Starring Yash with Rajeev Ravi behind the camera, the project first began early development in 2023 when Bajaj joined to craft distinct looks for the movie's ensemble cast.
Bajaj, who previously worked on Guns & Gulaabs and The Family Man, joined the project following an initial video call with Mohandas. The director described the venture as a secretive project featuring a circus, a mafia world, and formidable women. With the script still evolving, Bajaj researched real-life female figures in organized crime, including Stephanie St. Clair, known as the Harlem Queen, studying their mannerisms, clothing, and attitudes to build references for the characters.
Before the female cast was finalized, Bajaj constructed mood boards and detailed character briefs to ensure each role had a separate visual identity. For Kiara Advani’s circus performer Nadia, celebrity designer Manish Malhotra contributed to the look, highlighted by an opening performance costume. Nayanthara’s character Ganga, who plays protagonist Raya’s sister, was dressed in structured, utility-driven silhouettes to underline her grounded presence.
The styling for Tara Sutaria’s character Rebecca, the daughter of a mob boss, incorporated grunge elements and vintage accessories sourced from London. Huma Qureshi’s Elizabeth was designed with flamboyance, while Rukmini Vasanth’s Mellisa was styled with a stable quality open to experimentation. Co-designer Saniya Sardhariya collaborated on the project, handling Yash’s looks for his role as Raya.
Capturing the film's timeline from the 1940s and 1950s into the late 1960s and 1970s required extensive crowd dressing, using era-defining elements such as pointed collars and bell-bottoms. Bajaj coordinated wardrobes for large sequences, dressing 350 to 400 performers for a jazz club scene and nearly 700 junior artistes for a Goa parade sequence, relying on fabrics, leather, vintage hats, and gloves sourced across India and overseas.
The production also brought Bajaj back to Bengaluru, where she has family ties through her husband. Bajaj credited the collaboration with Mohandas for bringing a distinct feminine perspective to the textures, silhouettes, and visual depth of the female characters.
