This morning, the industry, trade, media and fans woke up to a sudden development – Toxic: A Fairy Tale For Grown-Ups, earlier scheduled to release on March 19, has been pushed to June 4. Meanwhile, the team of Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai was jolted to learn about the official announcement. The Varun Dhawan–Mrunal Thakur–Pooja Hegde starrer is set to arrive in cinemas on June 5, and Bollywood Hungama has learned that Toxic’s postponement was not communicated to them.

A source told Bollywood Hungama, “If a film has already locked a release slot and another filmmaker plans to come on the same day, it’s customary to inform the makers who had taken the date first. In this case, that didn’t happen. Varun Dhawan, director David Dhawan and producer Ramesh Taurani learned that Toxic: A Fairy Tale For Grown-Ups was arriving in the same week as their film only after actor Yash posted the news on social media.”

The source continued, “The team of Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai is upset. They were caught unawares and are now considering what to do next – should they move or should they stick to the date?”

Bollywood Hungama contacted Ramesh Taurani, and he simply said, “We’ve not decided anything yet.”

An industry insider commented, “Toxic: A Fairy Tale For Grown-Ups was the first one to take up the March 19 slot. Did the makers of Dhurandhar: The Revenge call them before announcing to the world that the sequel will also arrive on the same day?”

On this, our source said, “Two wrongs don’t make it right. I hope we go back to the time when producers called each other in case they were planning to clash and also amicably shared screens.”

However, amidst whispers of a communication breakdown, a spokesperson for KVN Productions has stepped forward to clarify that the decision was handled with professional transparency. “When the owner of KVN, Mr. Venkat, realized the dates were overlapping, he personally reached out to the makers of Varun’s film, Mr. Ramesh Taurani, to avoid any unnecessary friction,” the spokesperson stated. “Anil Thadani facilitated the conversation, as Toxic makers were clear that they didn’t want the other project to face the kind of uncertainty his film had earlier encountered. The discussion happened well before the official announcement of the new release date, so both teams were completely aware that a clash was on the horizon. It was all handled transparently and cordially.”

Meanwhile, another source explained how the makers of Toxic: A Fairy Tale For Grown-Ups thought of the new release date, “It was distributor Anil Thadani who strongly suggested that the film should arrive on June 4. He said it would be an apt date as by then, the tensions in the Middle East would definitely subside and stop and secondly, the IPL season will come to an end by then. The producers of Toxic and actor Yash found merit in his suggestion and they decided to go ahead with it.”

Also Read: Toxic’s new release date sets up a clash with Varun Dhawan’s Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai