How Yash went from making just ₹50 per day to charging ₹200 crore per film

Everything was going well in his career when he took up the mammoth project that was KGF: Chapter 1, directed by Prashanth Neel in 2018. If KGF made Yash a star, then KGF 2 made him a Pan Indian star with KGF: Chapter 2, breaking a mind-boggling haul of ₹1250 crore.

The KGF star Yash went from a regional star to a household name across India. Until KGF Yash was a known Kannada actor, but after KGF everyone was singing praises of the star.

KGF 1 and KGF 2 both films collectively grossed over ₹1500 crore and are among the highest-grossing Kannada films ever. But as shown in the film, Yash's real-life story is also that of a rags to riches. Yash happens to be the son of a humble bus driver.

When he was merely 16 years old, he used to sell tea and earn ₹50 per day. He had managed to convince his parents to let him leave home and pursue his acting career. With just ₹300 in his pocket, Yash joined the Benaka Drama Troupe, working as a backstage dancer and also honing his craft in theater.

Yash said, "I ran off from my home. When I came to Bengaluru, I was scared the minute I reached. Such a big, intimidating city. But I was always a confident guy. I wasn't scared to struggle. I had just ₹300 in my pocket when I reached Bengaluru. I knew if I went back, my parents would never allow me to return here.". Yash was born in Boovanahalli, a village in Hassan, Karnataka.

Yash's acting career began as an assistant director in a Kannada film, but due to some unforeseen reasons, the project was shelved. He got his acting break in the 2007 TV series Nanda Gokula, where he met his future wife, Radhika Pandit.

Before venturing into films Yash was a known television actor; in 2007, Yash entered films as a supporting role in Jambada Hudugi.
In 2008, he ventured as a leading man in the Kannada film Rocky.
Yash was known for his romantic comedy films such as Modalasala.
He established himself as a bankable star with the blockbuster film Kirataka. He is well known for films like Moggina Manasu, Drama, Googly, Mr. and Mrs. Ramachari, and Masterpiece.

Everything was going well in his career when he took up the mammoth project that was KGF: Chapter 1, directed by Prashanth Neel in 2018.
If KGF made Yash a star, then KGF 2 made him a Pan Indian star with KGF: Chapter 2, breaking a mind-boggling haul of ₹1250 crore.
The film is one of the highest-grossing Indian films ever and the only Kannada film to gross over ₹1000 crore.

Now, the rocking star Yash has been receiving projects from different industries and has been roped in to play Ravana in Nitesh Tiwari's Ramayana. The film, starring Ranbir Kapoor and Sai Pallavi, is said to be the most expensive Indian film in production.

The success of the star has led him to co-produce this film. What a journey for someone who once survived on ₹50 a day.

In 2017, Yash, along with his wife Radhika Pandit, founded the YashoMarga Foundation, a social welfare non-profit organization. In their first mission, the foundation addressed a water crisis in Karnataka's Koppal district by investing ₹40 million towards desilting lakes and providing pure drinking water to 40 villages in the region.That year, he sought protection from the police owing to death threats.

To be such a big star with such humbleness is a sight we rarely see. Yash would star in Geetu Mohanda's next film, 'Toxic: A Fairy Tale for Grown-Ups'. The movie centers around a drug cartel based in Goa.