KGF, Rocking Star Yash And The Win Of Indian Films

Cinema is a word that is super close to my heart. Ever since I was a child, there was something about films that got me excited. Back in the late 90s going to a theatre was one special experience and as a kid, I would look forward to that experience. The first film, I ever watched in a theatre was Yash Chopra‘s Dil To Pagal Hai in 1997 and that was love at first sight. Ever since then, this medium has only made me fall in love with it with each passing day.

Fast forward to 2018. I am travelling to the suburbs and I see huge hoardings on the Western Express Highway of a film that I have only heard of. The name was an acronym and the poster was intriguing. The daydreamer that I am, was quick enough to Google the trailer of it and I was mind-blown. Being a Hindi film buff, masala entertainers have been an everyday meal but this looked different, this felt different. The film was KGF: Chapter 1 and the poster was of the Rocking Star Yash inviting Mumbai and the world to an experience that was going to be unforgettable.

When the pandemic hit us and we were locked inside our homes, I revisited this Prashanth Neel‘s directorial yet again and even the fourth time (I watched it twice in the theatres and once when it came on OTT), it felt so good. There is something about this film that just manages to impress you with each watch. While you’ll end up appreciating the effort put in, the thought, the action sequences or the world of KGF, one thing that will top it all is Yash. He has given his hard work, blood and sweat for this project and it shows. To add to that dhamakedar dialogue delivery and that swag is the larger than life image of Rocky Bhai. He is indeed the perfect bad boy all of us love. Yash is a superstar in the Kannada film industry but with KGF, he became the Indian superstar who managed to reach and tap every corner of the nation and made them fall in love with films, again!

We live in a country where the constitution recognises 22 languages and films are made in these languages to cater to a population of 1.38 billion (approx.) The past 4 years have been a turning point in the Indian film industry and that change has given birth to the concept of pan-India. SS Rajamouli‘s films Baahubali: The Beginning and Baahubali: The Conclusion, have coined the term and now, it has become an everyday lingo for the show business. While Rajamouli managed to impress the audience with his epic action drama, Prashanth with Yash proved to the audience that a fictional heroic tale can touch hearts not only nationwide but globally.

I was in Bangalore at the start of this week to witness the grand trailer launch of KGF: Chapter 2 and witness the hero, Rocking Star Yash in real and while I was completely in awe with the trailer it was what Yash said at the launch, that resonated with me. “North, south, east, west, are only for directions. We are Indian, and we need to call it the Indian film industry rather than referring to the industries as ‘woods’. Regardless of whoever makes the film, we as Indian have to celebrate cinema because it is an Indian film.” He further went on to add that when we term something like the ‘next-big-thing’ we get stuck in the rut. You either are a superstar with your work or you aren’t and for it, Yash is the former.

When the country was still hungover from the effects of Baahubali, it was he, who believed that a Kannada film had the potential to travel the globe and resonate with the audience so much that even during the pandemic, Twitter kept on constantly asking about the release of KGF: Chapter 2. They say that the director is the captain of the ship, but I also believe that it is the protagonist who carries the maximum weight on his shoulder and with KGF, Yash has not only managed to do justice to the expectations but has made the Kannada industry super proud. So as I gear up to witness the brilliance of talents in chapter 2, I know that the game has just begun for this Indian superstar.