'Didn't do KGF to intimidate people, but to inspire'

Mumbai: People have started noticing South films, said 'KGF' star Yash, who believes the magnitude of his movie franchise's success came as a huge surprise to everyone in the country.

Yash became a pan-India star with the Prashanth Neel-directed Kannada action film 'KGF: Chapter One' (2018), which featured him as Rocky, a high-ranking assassin in Mumbai who works his way to the throne of Kolar Gold Fields.

In April, he came out with 'KGF: Chapter 2', which opened to bumper response at the box office when it was released across the country in Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Hindi and Malayalam. It became one of the highest-grossing films of the year.

Speaking at a session during the conclave held by a leading media house on the night of November 5, Yash said earlier people used to make fun of films from the south, especially because of bad dubbing.

"10 years ago, dubbed films became very popular in the North. People used to make fun of South films. They would ridicule the action sequences, but eventually they got hooked on them. Initially, our films were sold for a meagre price. People would settle for bad dubbing and give random names for the films. Then, they started becoming familiar with our dubbed films," the actor said.

But things have changed for the better and the credit for it goes to SS Rajamouli and his blockbuster 'Baahubali' franchise, he added.

"If you have to break a rock, it requires continuous effort. 'Baahubali' gave that push. 'KGF' was done with a different intention. We didn't do 'KGF' to intimidate people, but to inspire. People have now started noticing South films. Before, we had a different budget to come here and market. Right now, with the digital revolution, we have the opportunity to showcase it to the world," Yash, whose real name is Naveen Kumar Gowda, said.

The 36-year-old actor revealed he had been waiting for the success of South films at the countrywide level for a long time.

"If it doesn't sound arrogant, I did want this to happen. I visualised it and I wanted this to happen," he added.