2022, in a way, is becoming the year of Kannada films which started with Rocking Star Yash’s KGF 2. The film broke many opening day records and registered an unprecedented 54cr Day 1 collection in Hindi version. The film became the second highest grosser of all time in India, collected over 1200 crs Nationwide and Rocky Bhai became a household name in every part of the country. By recording such massive footfall and collections, the film revived theaters across the country that were still reeling under the pandemic cloud. With KGF 1 and 2, Yash brought back the angry young man, introduced the Indian audience to Kannada cinema and then brought back audiences nationwide to cinemas. Very similar to how Mahendra Singh Dhoni first put Ranchi on the cricket map, and then lifted the World Cup for India after a long gap of 28 years.
The impact of Yash’s KGF 1 and 2 goes beyond the numbers. Prior to KGF, the thought process was the Kannada film Industry was a smaller one with limitations and many even said that Kannada Industry could never make it. The KGF franchise changed the perception around Kannada cinema and made audiences across the country take notice.
At a recent event, when asked about the rise of Kannada cinema, Yash spoke about how it was about bringing about a shift in attitude. The superstar said, “I had a problem with the previous attitude. No industry is big or small, it’s about what we do with that industry. We can make good things, if it becomes big, see how today the whole perception has changed. People now say Kannada industry is rocking, Kannada industry has changed. I think it’s about taking a few steps which are important. Now everybody is going with that attitude that we can showcase our talent at a national stage. That was important. For me, the main agenda was to come out and position our industry in such a way.”
During the event, Yash also spoke about the preconceived notions and judgements he dealt with while securing a PAN India release for KGF 1. “The times were different. When I came to Bombay at that time, the kind of reception we used to get was entirely different. At that time, a lot of people told me why are you coming here, you will not even recover the 10 crores or whatever you will invest in publicity and promotion. So, that success was a bigger achievement for me.” The success of the KGF franchise warmed up the audience to the potential of Kannada films, and paved the way for many other filmmakers to present their films to a wider audience.