Happy Birthday Yash: Is it time for the Rocking Star to break through the tag of KGF and Rocky Bhai?

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The worlds of Baahubalis, Pushpas, and Rockys

While Rocky Bhai has already been immortalised on screen, there is a big question… Has the audience been primed to see Yash adopt a different persona? Take, for instance, actors like Prabhas and Allu Arjun, who are, in some ways, sailing on a similar boat as Yash. Prabhas spent five years on Baahubali. But for ten years before that, Prabhas had done multiple films, which for many reasons, managed to be popular outside Telugu states too. Even then, it wasn’t easy to shake off being Mahendra and Amarendra Baahubali. Being a suave international thief wasn’t enough. Being a romantic astrologer didn’t make the cut. Being a god didn’t help his case either. Five years after being Baahubali, he had to become a warrior all over again in Prashanth Neel’s Salaar, and another warrior of sorts in Nag Ashwin’s futuristic Kalki 2898 AD to right the ship.

Similarly, Allu Arjun spent five years on the Pushpa films, but he had spent almost two decades becoming an endearing star in South Indian states, and of course, his dubbed films were massive successes in the Hindi satellite market. But, now… it would be very interesting to see if Allu Arjun can shake off the persona of Pushpa in his next. It might seem easy for the Telugu audience who have seen him play a variety of characters before the Sukumar movie. But he is not just a Telugu icon now… he is an Indian Icon Star, and the vision cannot be the same anymore. But still… he has the comfort of the familiar.

Images of Prabhas as Baahubali and Allu Arjun as Pushpa

On the other hand, Yash is faced with a rather interesting conundrum. Yes, he too spent almost six years on the KGF films, but he doesn’t necessarily have an image to fall back on. So, everything has to be calculated, every exit has to be noted, every potential obstacle accounted for. Although it might seem impossible to imagine him as anything but Rocky Bhai, there was a time when he was the quintessential romantic hero of Kannada cinema, and it was the case as late as 2016. In fact, barring a couple of films like Raja Huli or Gajakesari, Yash was always a ‘soft’ hero. But honestly, many outside Kannada cinema didn’t really know of Yash.

Brand Rocky or Brand Yash

Kannada cinema wasn’t always available readily for a discerning audience outside Karnataka during the era Yash earned his stripes. There were many issues that kept the industry confined within the state despite consistently telling excellent stories through wonderful performers. But with the growing digital era, it was only a matter of time before the industry shattered that glass ceiling, and entered the Indian mainstream. It needed a man with a hammer, and that’s exactly what Yash and Prashanth did with KGF. However, there’s a catch. The tag of Rocky Bhai would always be attached to him because that was the first time many got acquainted with him. The character became bigger than the actor. Almost like Gabbar Singh and Amjad Khan.

It didn’t help that Yash hasn’t had a single release in over three years, which effectively means, he has been Rocky Bhai for almost a decade now, and nothing else. Of course, it is a result of Yash being careful and calculative, and other factors that were outside his control. But for his fans, both old and new, the delay is a double-edged sword. Some might get disillusioned, and some might get overhyped, and there are many more straddling between these two emotions. But it is going to be interesting to see his well-laid plans unfold over the next two years.

First up, he has Geetu Mohandas’ Toxic, which is billed as a ‘Fairy tale for adults’ and is expected to be a globe-trotting adventure story. Right from the choice of filmmaker, Yash has conjured up something really interesting to make people forget that he is Rocky Bhai, and remind them that he is the Rocking Star for a reason. Interestingly, Prabhas too took up a global adventure thriller for his follow-up to the iconic Baahubali. Probably, it is a rite of passage of sorts for actors to do something suave and sophisticated after finding themselves in a new world. If it was Mahishmathi for Prabhas, it was Narachi for Yash.

Yash’s Rocky Bhai entering Narachi in KGF 1

And just like Prabhas and Adipurush, Yash is part of the much-awaited Ramayana retelling by Nitesh Tiwari. But interestingly, this time around, Yash isn’t playing Lord Rama, but essaying the role of Ravana, the primary antagonist of the epic. The VFX-heavy film, featuring Ranbir Kapoor and Sai Pallavi in the lead roles, is also backed by Yash.

If everything goes according to plan, and considering how the market for such retellings of epics is at an all-time high, this Ramayana, with its star-studded ensemble might just be the next big thing from Indian cinema. And who might benefit most from it? Yash. Having already shared his plans for Toxic, which he believes would be a global film that finds a release all across the world in multiple languages, who would the film benefit the most? Yash. And both these films aren’t ones where he is just an actor who comes to the sets, does the job, and leaves. It goes on to show that Yash isn’t focusing on individual glory. In fact, he is a staunch believer that one person’s win might not always be an individual high. He wants to win in such a way that a lot of people are ushered ahead in their lives because of this success. He wants to be a beacon… someone who wouldn’t be bound by linguistic barriers, commercial compromises, and economic limitations.

What’s in store?

In fact, in both Toxic and Ramayana, he is invested — emotionally, financially, physically, and mentally — and the makers can rest assured that he would leave no stone unturned to proclaim to the world that he is not just a one-trick pony. He has to prove to the audience that the long wait would be worth everything. He has to prove to his fans that things would just get bigger and better with every film. He has to convince the newer audience that they threw their weight behind the winning horse. He has to prove to his detractors that Rocky Bhai was a consequence of a lot of things, and not just a fluke.

First look of Yash from Toxic is out.

ALSO READ: Yash’s first poster from Toxic: A Fairy Tale for Grown-ups revealed; check it out

But more than anything, he has to look in the mirror every day, and remind his bearded conscience that Rocky Bhai is a mask that needs to be discarded soon. Fans can immortalise a character, but an actor should never do it. He knows it. He can’t be Rocky Bhai forever. If not anything else, Yash is a smart alec, who knows his audience, his fans, his family, and of course… his own hype train.

Now, three years after the release of KGF 2, he is now firmly in the driver’s seat of his career, holding on to the reins of his career very firmly. And now, ahead of the most important phase of his career… the all-important phase that would decide the future course of his brand of films, and his own individual brand, it is clear that at the core of all that he is doing right now, and whatever he is envisioning for the future, there is just one thing Yash wants. And that is…

“Duniya…”