Karnataka, 15 December (H.S.)
Kannada film industry was well served by legendary actors Dr Rajkumar, Vishnuvardhan and Ambareesh for over six decades. The trio worked 200 movies each , thus accounting for over 600 Kannada feature films, an astounding figure in the annals of Kannada motion pictures industry.
Actors like Anantnag Shankar Nag , Arvind Ramesh, Upendra, Shashi Kumar , Jaggesh piched in with their efforts .
Into the millennium's second decade , Kannada film industry had grown to become one of the vibrant film industry. Dozens of fresh faces had invaded the industry.
Amongst them , names of Yash and Rishab shetty stands out today for their incredible work.
Actor Yash started his performing arts career through Kannada Theatre. He spent quality time understanding and learning the nuances of stage play design, production , apart from being an actor. Couple of years in to stage plays, Yash was a name to reckon. This paved way for his entry to Kannada TV Serials. His performing arts skill was soon noticed by Kannada film industry and he was casted as a lead actor in Moggina Manasu (2008) . The movie was a sleeper hit and catapulted Yash to mainstream lead actor league . His performances in Kirataka , Googly, Rajadhani , Gaja kesari cemented his position as a bankable star . By the turn of second decade of the century Yash had clear plans about his future .
A highly ambitious person he always aimed high in life . It is this attitude that brought Yash and Prashanth Neel to collaborate for the mega hit KGF Chapter 1 (2018) . The very concept of KGF was meant for an universal audience erasing the borders. Hombale production house was instrumental in marketing KGF franchise globally. KGF chapter 1 garnered over 100 Crores revenue in Kannada version and a combined collection of over Rs 500 cr at the global scale. KGF Chapter 2 (2022) re -wrote records with a collection of over Rs 1200 cr at the box office. History was written through KGF Chapter 2 not only in Kannada Film Industry but also in Indian Film industry.
Rishabh shetty was a part time actor during his initial years of his career . His maiden venture as an actor and director was Bell bottom (2019) . The movie was a sleeper hit and Rishab shetty at this juncture could choose the roles he wanted to play . It is during the pandemic that Kantara project was conceived. Kantara released in 2022 was a major milestone in Indian Film industry not only for the success of the movie but also for the divine theme . The superlative success prompted Hombale films to produce a prequel Kantara Chapter 1 , a very unique record in Kannada Film Industry. The movie was a colossal hit garnering over Rs 800 cr at the box office globally.
Reach of Kannada language and the rich cultural heritage of Karnataka thus reached nook and corner of the film lovers across the globe via OTT platforms.
With a combined collection of over Rs 2000 crores, KGF and Kantaara franchise has scripted history.
The superlative success erased the borders . Above all , it proved a point that human emotions need no spoken language.
HS Report
R Manjunath Chavan
---------------
Hindusthan Samachar / Manjunath Chavan
