How Yash silences his 'toxic' critics with Ramayana

After KGF made him a pan-India phenomenon and Toxic put his box-office pull under scrutiny, has Ramayana's Ravana finally silenced the doubters? With a widely appreciated performance and another massive opening, Yash seems to have found his emphatic answer.

In Short

• Yash completed a hat-trick of Rs 100-crore opening days with Ramayana
• After Toxic faltered, Ravana gives Yash a chance to silence doubters
• Ramayana puts the KGF fluke debate over Yash's stardom to rest

Rs 100 crore. Rs 100 crore. Rs 100 crore.

With Ramayana: Rise of a Legend, Yash has completed a hat-trick of Rs 100-crore opening days. The film opened to a worldwide collection of Rs 155 crore on its release day. And within four days, the film smashed Rs 500 crore globally. With largely positive word of mouth and appreciation for Yash's portrayal of Ravana, those numbers could only get bigger in the days ahead. But there is something else Yash has finally managed to do with Ramayana: give his doubters a reason to pause. Because, for all his success, one thing the actor has never quite managed to escape is doubt.

Doubt surrounding his stardom, his box-office pull and whether the phenomenon that was KGF: Chapter 2 was really his to begin with. And that doubt only grew louder after Toxic failed to deliver – a fairytale comeback no one would wish for after a monstrous success like KGF: Chapter 2. But with Ramayana, has he finally given a definitive answer? The answer seems to be a Ravana-sized 'Yes'h!

Ever since KGF: Chapter 2 became a monstrous box-office success in 2022, Yash's stardom has been subjected to a peculiar kind of scrutiny. Was it Yash who brought audiences to theatres, or was it director Prashanth Neel and his spectacular world? Was the actor's popularity the driving force behind the franchise's unprecedented success, or did Prashanth Neel's filmmaking, the music, the world-building and the sheer scale of the spectacle create a phenomenon that would have worked regardless? The questions were always there, even as Yash became one of the biggest names in Indian cinema.

Then came the wait. Four years is a long time for an actor to stay away from the big screen, especially after delivering one of Indian cinema's biggest blockbusters. While Yash took his time choosing his next project, the anticipation was accompanied by speculation. Was he being selective? Was he struggling to find something that could match the scale of KGF? Or was the industry witnessing a star who had peaked with one extraordinary film?

Amid all the questions, Yash remained unfazed. He spoke about taking Kannada cinema to the world, building something bigger and making choices that went beyond conventional career calculations. His confidence was unwavering, even when the audience had little to judge him by.

Toxic: A Fairy Tale for Grown-Ups was supposed to be the answer. A collaboration with Geetu Mohandas, the film promised a departure from Rocky Bhai and an entirely different cinematic world. Yash was not looking to repeat himself. He wanted to expand his canvas, capitalise on what KGF had earned him and push the boundaries of himself as an artist and Indian cinema. But the film's failure to connect with audiences turned that ambition into a target.

The confidence that had once been celebrated as a sign of his conviction was now being ridiculed. The 'KGF was a fluke' argument from his critics returned, this time with seemingly more ammunition. For his detractors, Toxic was 'proof' that Yash's box-office pull might not be as invincible as his post-KGF image suggested, even though the film delivered a Rs 137-crore opening.

And that is precisely why Ramayana matters.

This is not just another big-budget film riding on Yash's popularity. As an actor and co-producer, he has a considerable stake in the project. More importantly, playing Ravana gave him the opportunity to demonstrate that there is more to his acting abilities than the swagger, aggression and larger-than-life persona that made Rocky Bhai iconic. Ravana is a character with layers of pride, intellect, devotion, ambition and vulnerability. It demanded a different kind of screen presence. Yash understood the assignment and how!

His portrayal of Ravana has emerged as one of the film's biggest talking points. The largely positive reception to Ramayana, coupled with its massive opening, gives Yash the kind of validation that Toxic couldn't. That might not have been his motive, but the verdict is loud and clear.

Of course, the credit for Ramayana's positive reception cannot rest on Yash's shoulders alone. Nitesh Tiwari's writing and direction, Namit Malhotra's grit as a producer, the film's spectacular visual experience and the performances of Ranbir Kapoor, Sai Pallavi and Ravie Dubey have all contributed to its reception. It is a collective effort, and Yash is one of the many people responsible for bringing this ambitious project to life. But his contribution goes beyond playing Ravana. As a co-producer, he has backed the film, and by taking responsibility for its distribution across South India, he has put his money and conviction behind the project in a big way.

You almost hear him go 'All In' and it is difficult not to imagine Yash as Ravana right now. He has put his faith in the film, his performance and its potential. The opening numbers suggest that the gamble is paying off.

There is also a larger significance to this moment for South Indian cinema. Prabhas, after Baahubali 2, has delivered multiple Rs 100-crore opening-day grossers, albeit with his own share of ups and downs at the pan-India box office. The great Rajinikanth has three. Yash now joins that exclusive club. Three films, three Rs 100-crore opening days. That is no small feat, particularly for someone whose box-office credentials were questioned after one setback.

Does this mean every question surrounding Yash's stardom has disappeared? Perhaps not. But the numbers, the audience response and the appreciation for his performance have certainly made the argument harder to sustain. Perhaps the biggest takeaway is that Yash never seemed to doubt his own ability, even when everyone else did. He backed his choices, took risks and refused to back down or play it safe.

KGF made him a phenomenon. Toxic gave his detractors a reason to question that phenomenon. And Ramayana? It might just be the answer to these questions.

If KGF was a fluke and Toxic revealed the truth, Ramayana has made one thing clear: Yash is no one-film wonder. And this time, the roar belongs to the mighty Ravana.

- Ends