Yash: The rise of the ‘Rocking Star’

Directors who worked with Yash decode his career that has crossed the boundaries of Kannada cinema

As the Kannada soap ‘Nanda Gokula’ crossed the 50-episode mark, a young Naveen Kumar approached his director Ashok Kashyap with a request. “He asked me to change his name to Yash in the title card,” the veteran cinematographer tells Showtime. “When I asked him the reason, he didn’t have a clear answer but he felt the name was apt for his acting dreams,” adds Kashyap.

Cinema is a notoriously tough profession and Yash always had a plan to conquer it. A week before the release of his magnum opus ‘KGF: Chapter 2’, Yash, called the ‘Rocking Star’, has done the unthinkable.

No Kannada star in recent memory had taken control of the Mumbai box office with such authority as he has. Aamir Khan, the safest box-office bet among the three Khans, decided to avoid a clash with ‘KGF’ by postponing the release of his ‘Laal Singh Chaddha’. If reports are to be believed, ‘KGF: Chapter 2’ is set to make a record opening in Mumbai on April 14.

This is a terrific career triumph for an artiste who straddled mammoth barriers. The often-told story is that he endured financial struggles, which once forced the Mysore boy to sleep in a bus stand after several rejections. The defining difference between Yash and others in the rat race is that he never lost sight of his biggest goal.

His stint with theatre gave him an opportunity to explore the visual medium. The visually-rich serial ‘Nanda Gokula’, crafted by the gifted Kashyap, was a big hit. Yash played his current wife and actor Radhika Pandit’s younger brother in the serial.

Director Shashank remembers Yash as a relentless go-getter. There was also desperate energy to make it big. “When I picked him for his debut feature ‘Moginna Manasu’ (2008), he was acting in a serial called ‘Preethi Illada Mele'. He had a rugged look in that," recollects the filmmaker.

“He convinced the serial crew to allow him to sport a clean-shaven look for my film as his role was of a soft-natured musician. He jostled between my film and the serial. It was a female-oriented movie and he was essaying the only significant male character. He was smart enough to look for a chance of being noticed. One striking memory from the film is that I never saw him waste time on the sets. He would prepare a lot in between shots,” he says.

‘Moggina Manasu’ was an encouraging start but Yash’s wasn't going to a swift rise. 'Modalasala' enjoyed a good run but a string of flops (‘Rocky’, ‘Kallara Santhe’, ‘Gokula’, and ‘Rajadhani’) and an alleged tiff with co-actor Ramya were big blows. To his credit, he treated his failures as teachable moments and turned them around with ‘Kirataka’, a romantic comedy set in Mandya. The remake was his first industry hit.

The success of ‘Drama’ with Yogaraj Bhat further boosted his confidence and after two village-centric hits, he was on a conscious chase of an image makeover. He saw potential in Pawan Wadeyar’s ‘Googly’ (2013). “We wanted to give him a young and charming look,” says Pawan. “I remember Yash being excited as we sat in his preferred salon in Koramangala and tried different hairstyles. This is the level of interest directors expect from heroes. We had a short schedule and we saw Yash being as disciplined as all the technicians. He looked for ways to wrap up the schedule quickly. There is a thin line between involvement and interference. Yash never crossed it,” opines Pawan. 'Googly', an urban love story with peppy and soulful songs, became a blockbuster.

‘Raja Huli’ (2013) earned him scores of fans from the Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities. “Right after a sophisticated look, he sported a style of moustache that became a trend. He had no apprehensions about it. If you observe his career, he has a knack for selecting the right look. He was natural with the Mandya dialect. His convincing performance drove the film to full houses in a tricky region like Dakshina Kannada,” says the film’s director Guru Deshpande.

Blessed with a handsome look and towering personality, Yash began to be known for his dialogue-delivery and dance. “There are two types of dialogues,” says Manju Mandavya, the writer of ‘Raja Huli’. “One evokes laughter and the other produces whistles. Yash in ‘Raja Huli’ became a favourite of the youth. They saw themselves in his confidence and swagger and cheered his punchlines,” he observes.

Be it the romantic or that of a college-going rebel, his roles mainly targetted the youth. Filmmakers observe that he loved roles that resemble his personality: quirky, and energetic.

He combined all his skillsets for ‘Gajakesari’ (2014), his first attempt at being a pan-India star. The reincarnation story, a genre that made SS Rajamouli a blockbuster director, saw Yash sporting a physique of a warrior. “We still have his workout videos,” says the film’s cinematographer Satya Hegde. “His preparation for the physical transformation was inspiring and the result was evident on the screen. He went without rice for months. Yash also did something extra by bringing his own touch to action sequences,” he says.

Industry insiders say Yash is a producer’s delight. His commitment goes to an extent that he is even willing to give the producer his dates for free if a film flops. That's the risk he took for films he believed in, they say.

‘Mr and Mrs Ramachari’ (2014), with Radhika, was the perfect family entertainer, while ‘Masterpiece’ gave us the first glimpse of his stylish, angry young man avatar. “We talk about stars being just entertainers but decision-making is a crucial skill. In ‘Masterpiece’ (2015), Yash plays a man with grey shades. He makes you angry with his attitude. You didn’t see heroes doing that then,” opines filmmaker Mandavya.

‘KGF Chapter: 1’ enhanced his image and helped him become a star outside the horizons of Sandalwood as the period action-drama was tailor-made for his abilities as a commercial cinema hero. A dialogue from the film aptly describes his journey. As the much-loved Rocky Bhai, he says, “Without knowing the depth, you can’t rule over an ocean. Let’s dive and find out.” That’s exactly what he has done. The calculative approach is the secret of his success.