Key facts
- Yash's father once earned just Rs 14 a day
- Yash slept on the streets of Bengaluru in his early days
- He now headlines the Ramayana film, reportedly budgeted at Rs 4,000 crore
Long before his name became synonymous with blockbuster spectacle, Kannada superstar Yash was sleeping on the streets of Bengaluru, with his father earning just Rs 14 a day. The Indian Express has chronicled the remarkable backstory of the actor now set to headline one of Indian cinema's most expensive productions — the Ramayana film, reported to carry a staggering budget of Rs 4,000 crore.
Yash, born Naveen Kumar Gowda, moved to Bengaluru as a young man with little more than an ambition to act. The early years were marked by acute financial struggle — no steady accommodation, no industry connections, and a family with almost no financial cushion. Those years of hardship have since become part of the Yash mythology, frequently cited as the foundation of his grounded public persona.
His breakthrough came through Kannada television and theatre before the KGF franchise — KGF: Chapter 1 and KGF: Chapter 2 — turned him into a pan-India phenomenon. Chapter 2 went on to become one of the highest-grossing Indian films of all time, catapulting him to a tier of stardom shared by very few.
Now, his casting in the Ramayana represents the logical next chapter: a performance that will be watched by hundreds of millions of Indians carrying the weight of both cultural reverence and commercial expectation. From Rs 14-a-day poverty to a Rs 4,000-crore canvas, the distance is almost cinematic in itself.