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Today, when the name of ‘Rocking Star’ Yash flashes on the screen in theatres, the entire theater shakes with applause and whistles. Yash, who rewrote the history of Indian cinema through historic blockbuster films like ‘KGF Chapter 1’ and ‘KGF Chapter 2’, has today become the biggest brand of pan-India cinema. The level of excitement and anticipation across the country about his upcoming film ‘Toxic: A Fairy Tale for Grown-Ups’ and Nitesh Tiwari’s epic film ‘Ramayana’ can be a dream for any contemporary actor.
But long before reaching this point of glitz, crores of box office collections and national fame, Yash’s journey was full of rejections, financial hardships and bitter experiences. In the initial days of his career, when Yash was working on the small screen i.e. television serials, he had taken such a drastic and unimaginable decision due to which the entire film industry had branded him as ‘arrogant’, ‘arrogant’ and ‘obstinate’. At that time, Yash had directly rejected the offers of seven films simultaneously.
Just 300 rupees in pocket and big dreams in eyes: rebellion of bus driver’s son
Born in a very ordinary and middle-class family of Hassan district of Karnataka, Naveen Kumar Gowda (Yash)’s father was an ordinary bus driver in Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) and mother was a housewife. The financial condition of the family was such that they wanted their son to become the support of the family by getting a secure government job or a degree. But Yash had a passion to become an actor since childhood.
When he expressed his desire to go into films to his parents, his family rejected it as childish stubbornness. Eventually, at the age of 16, Yash had only Rs. 300 rupees He ran away from his home and reached Bengaluru. In an unknown city, Yash neither had any acquaintances nor any permanent place to hide his head. He joined Bengaluru’s famous theater group ‘Benaka Drama Troupe’, where he worked as a backstage worker, lightman and tea fetcher during the plays so that he could learn the intricacies of theater and acting.
Story of rejecting 7 films together during TV days: Why did the producer-director get angry?
After working hard in theatre, Yash started getting small roles in Kannada television serials. Around the year 2004, serials aired on ETV Kannada and other channels like ‘Uttarayan’, ‘Nanda Gokula’ and famous serials ‘Preeti Illada Mele’ Yash’s acting and his screen presence won the hearts of the audience. He became the most popular and loved young star of Kannada TV industry in a very short time.
At that time, to capitalize on Yash’s tremendous TRP and popularity on television, many big producers and directors of Chandanavan (Kannada film industry) started coming to him with offers for their films. It is a big dream for any newcomer and struggling artist to debut as a lead actor from TV to films. Most young actors accept any role to get a break in films, but Yash had a completely different approach.
Yash continuously Rejected offers for 7 feature films Did it. When he was asked the reason for this, he clearly said that the stories of all these films were clichéd and without any logic. The producers only wanted to take advantage of her TV popularity and make profits by making a superficial love story or a formulaic action film with no scope for acting for the characters.
This bold and outspoken stance of Yash angered the veteran filmmakers of that time. Rumors started spreading in the corridors of the industry that “An ordinary TV serial actor is considering himself a superstar”, “This guy is very arrogant and rude”, and “He will never be able to survive in the industry.”
‘Not getting work was acceptable, but doing bad work was not’: Yash’s unwavering insistence
Years later, while talking openly about his decision in a national interview, Yash had said that what people considered his ‘ego’ was actually his respect for his craft. Self-Respect and Vision Was.
Yash had said, “When I was doing TV, I was getting good money and a lot of love from the audience. I had bread to eat. I did not want to be a part of a poor script just in the name of appearing in films which would make my audience feel cheated. I had promised myself that whenever I step on the big screen, I will come up with a story that leaves a mark on people’s hearts, no matter how long I have to wait for it.”
Yash was confident that once he got caught in a wrong film, the audience would reject him forever. So he decided to work on his own terms without worrying about the producers’ displeasure.
Big bang started with ‘Mogina Mansu’: It proved that Yash’s decision was right
After a long wait and rejection of 7 films, in the year 2008, director Shashank invited Yash to do the film. ‘Moggina Manasu’ Narrated the script. It was a multi-starrer film in which Radhika Pandit was in the lead role and Yash was offered a supporting role.
Many people from the industry advised Yash that since he is the lead hero of TV, he should not play second lead or supporting role in films. But Yash saw strength in the story of this film and the depth of his character ‘Rahul’. He signed the film without any hesitation.
When the film was released, it proved to be a huge critical and commercial hit. Yash’s sensitive and powerful acting was appreciated so much that he got the award of that year. Filmfare Best Supporting Actor (Kannada) Awarded. The success of this film forever silenced all those critics and filmmakers who used to call Yash arrogant.
From ‘Rocky Bhai’ to ‘Toxic’: When stubbornness becomes national revolution
After ‘Mogina Manasu’ Yash never looked back. Back-to-back blockbuster films like ‘Kirataka’, ‘Drama’, ‘Googly’, ‘Gajakesari’ and ‘Mr. and Mrs. Ramachari’ made him Karnataka’s biggest superstar i.e. ‘Rocking Star’.
But Yash’s insistence was not limited to becoming the star of just one state. Even when he conceived ‘KGF’ (Kolar Gold Fields) with director Prashant Neel, the entire Indian film industry thought it was madness. No one had thought that a Kannada language film could earn more than Rs 1200 crore at the box office across India and shake Bollywood and Hollywood. It was Yash’s same unwavering confidence and belief in his story, which once again created history.
Today Yash is talking about his upcoming film. ‘Toxic’ He is busy shooting for the film, which is being directed by renowned National Award winning director Geetu Mohandas. Not signing any new film for two years after KGF 2 and waiting for the right script proves that the ‘artist’s stubbornness’ within Yash is still alive and untainted.
A valuable lesson for the young generation: Trust your vision
This unheard story of fame teaches that the world often considers those who are ‘arrogant’ or ‘obstinate’ who refuse to follow the crowd and want to write their destiny on their own terms.
If at that time young Yash had accepted those 7 average films under immediate greed or pressure, then perhaps Indian cinema would never have got that ‘Rocky Bhai’ who hoisted the flag of Indian cinema across the world. This journey of Yash proves that when your intentions are clear, your hard work is true and you have unwavering faith in your craft, then one day your same stubbornness becomes an example for the whole world.