The year has ended with a box-office bonanza, ‘Mr. & Mrs. Ramachari’ also anointing Yash as the undisputed superstar of Kannada cinema. The industry loves to say ‘you’re as good your last film’. Well, in two years five Yash starrers have hit the bull’s eye, consecutively.
Puneet and Darshan seem to be clinging to superstardom with straws. Their films may enjoy a wider initial draw but that has seldom sustained in the recent past. It’s purely economics and the tide will change. After all success is a game of ‘snakes and ladders’.
Right now it’s Yash all the way. With absolutely no relatives in the film industry this strapping youngster has ascended the slippery ladder of success step by step. I’ve seen him do the rounds of producer’s offices. Today they’re bidding for his call-sheets.
Jayanna, an exhibitor turned producer took him under his wings after being humiliated by another superstar. He’s literally groomed Yash who remains loyal enough not to take a professional step without consulting him. A friend of mine, a genial producer, approached Yash recently only to be told gently that he was in the queue. “I’ll let you know when I sense a sensible subject,” said the actor. Producers are reportedly prepared to pay him four crore rupees.
Does he hold any special allure? Well, youngsters, especially girls love him. Imagine, he’s the only eligible bachelor amongst the stars with any kind of box-office draw. He’s tall, good looking, dances well and plays the protector to perfection in his films. “Films are illusory and teenage girls feel they have a chance,” says a producer.
He’s careful about green-signalling projects. He has a core team whose sensibilities he believes in. Any decision is taken after deep discussions. “He involves himself in everything right down to the re-recording and till the first copy is dispatched. But again all this will be talked about positively till he is successful. After that it’ll be termed interference,” says an experienced producer. Yash doesn’t bank on established names, rather banking on rookies where directors are concerned.
The opening that ‘Mr. & Mrs. Ramachari’ received matches that of Puneet and Darshan. The road leading to Santosh theatre in Majestic was literally blocked. Black marketers had a field day with tickets selling for Rs. 500. Now that’s rarely happened in recent times.
The verdict was out after the first show. “Jayanna has another winner,” said a producer barely hiding a shade of envyYash is a fan of the character Vishnuvardhan played in the cult classic, ‘Nagarahavu’. His parents have incidentally christened him Ramachari. He even has the character’s face inked on his chest. He’s caught copying like his idol, stripped and humiliated. He too grows up and falls for his friend’s sister. He calls her Margaret while the baddie refers to the heroine as ‘bulbul’. He saves her from being molested and thanks him with adoration in his eyes.
“I’d have done this for anyone,” retorts the hero. This is one line I wanted to hear a hero mouth. From here the tale veers a bit towards ‘VIP’ starring Dhanush. There’s the father who dotes on his successful son while spewing venom at the ways of the vagabond. Of course the mother loves them equally. The rest is about the tumultuous relationship the lead pair share and how the father realizes the good side in his wayward son. There are intelligent, evenly-paced scenes peppered with well thought out dialogues. Of course, there’s the rhetoric about how girls calculatedly fall in love while boys are impulsive.
The film ends on the same hillock where the climax of ‘Nagarahavu’ was shot. Only, this pair sees no reason to die.
“Believe me his next film ‘Masterpiece’ will also be a super-hit. I’ve heard the story. If this film is about ‘father sentiment’ ‘Masterpiece’ is about ‘mother and sister’ sentiment,” confided a producer who’s in the long queue for Yash’s dates.
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