Actor Yash says that an actor either works his way up or gains fame overnight, but experiences both the sides of phenomenon in his career. Naveen Kumar Gowda, is the real name of Yash and his debut film was ‘Moggina Manasu’ in 2008. However, director Prashnath Neel’s ‘KGF’ did miracles for the actor.
"Generally, an actor gets the opportunity to be an overnight star or he would have earned it gradually, going step by step. So if it doesn't happen in your debut, then eventually you get it but it takes time. I took a lot of time to establish myself and then got the success. After becoming successful in the Kannada industry, I got to know how it feels to be an overnight star with ‘K.G.F’. Outside of Karnataka, not many people would have heard about me before ‘K.G.F’. But they accepted me. So KGF brought that change in my life,” Yash said.
The actor, who was born in Boovanahalli, a village in Hassan district of Karnataka, said “My vision since the beginning was to represent my industry and get that due respect from the rest of the country. When Karnataka is doing so well in other fields, I wanted to shine a light on my industry.”
About the character of Rocky, Yash said, “It is more vibrant. I wouldn't call playing this character a challenge but it was exciting. We created a whole world with chapter one but with chapter two, the layers open up. Because of the way the audience liked the film and made it a success, we had ample resources for chapter two and we have made it an even better movie.”
With the sequel coming up, the actor also mentioned that he had a harder task of matching the audience’s expectations, because ‘KGF’ was received very well and now they have to perform better. Yash credited the film’s director for making it easy for him to play Rocky.
“As an actor, when you know the nuances of that performance, then you know your job. Once you get a hold of it, then it becomes very natural and easy. And I, especially, get involved in every process. I'm involved from the moment the story gets written. This is why I never think about how to say a dialogue. And when I see a writer writing a dialogue, I know the reason behind it and the impact it will have on the story, the characters and the viewers.”
Yash believes that there shouldn't be any competition between regional movies and the Hindi film industry. Instead, they should try to work together to take on the world.
“India has already come together as one industry because there's multiple language options with pan Indian films. Now, what happens is we have a film with a universal concept and we make it in such a way that technically or aesthetically, it will be very good. Plus, you cater it to the people in their language.”
Yash said actors and filmmakers today realise the importance of the dubbing process.
“I don't think that dubbing can be taken lightly. It's not easy. Every film is dubbed. Even if I make a Kannada film, often I have to go and dub it. Even if I make a Hindi film, I have to dub it. I haven't dubbed ‘K.G.F: Chapter Two’ because I didn't dub the first one. It's a sequel and a continuation. But the next film, I'm very sure I'm going to dub just to provide the authenticity and my voice. I always feel that I can communicate better with my voice. But in total, this dubbing is not like the previous dubbing where we don't know how the dialogues are being dubbed. So it's about making an extra effort to reach every nook and corner of this country.”
With “K.G.F” concluding with the second part, Yash said an actor should always be identified with his or her “recent work”.
“At the same time, let them respect what you have done in the past. For example, we still talk about ‘Sholay’, ‘Deewar’ and ‘Zanjeer’. But it is not that after these films, people don't like Amit ji's films. I always believe that when I did my first film, then people recognised me with that film. Then after a few films, they recognised me by another movie's name. Now it is ‘KGF’. So it is good to be associated with the present film.”
‘KGF: Chapter 2’ will also see actors Srinidhi Shetty, Sanjay Dutt and Raveena Tandon. The film will release on April 14.
[With Inputs from PTI]
