Yash (actor)

Naveen Kumar Gowda known mononymously by his screen name Yash, is an Indian film actor who primarily works in Kannada films. Prior to films, he appeared in theater plays and television soaps.^[1][2]

Following this, Yash made his film debut in 2007 with Jambada Hudugi, playing a supporting role in the film. In his second film, Moggina Manasu (2008), he played the male lead opposite Radhika Pandit. The film was a commercial success and earned him the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor. Yash went on to star in many commercially successful films including Modalasala (2010), Rajadhani (2011), Mr. and Mrs. Ramachari (2014) and Masterpiece (2015).

Early life

Yash was born in the Hassan district of Karnataka to Arun Kumar and Pushpa. He has a younger sister named Nandini. His father formerly worked in the BMTC transport service.^[3] His childhood days were spent in Mysore where he did his schooling in Mahajana High School. Soon after his studies, he joined the BeNaKa drama troupe which was formed by noted dramatist B. V. Karanth.

Career

Early days

Yash started his acting career with the teleserial Nanda Gokula directed by Ashok Kashyap, which aired on ETV Kannada. He went on to appear in several other teleserials such as Malebillu and Preeti Illada Mele.^[4] He had a small role in a 2007 film directed by Priya Hassan, Jambhada Hudugi. He then acted in Moggina Manasu directed by Shashank in 2008, where he appeared in a supporting role alongside his Nanda Gokula co-star Radhika Pandit. He won the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the film.^[5] Yash then starred in lead roles in the films Rocky (2008), Kallara Santhe (2009), Gokula (2009).

In 2010, Yash starred in Modalasala which became his first commercial solo hit. His next film was Rajadhani in 2011, which got good reviews^[6] and his performance was critically acclaimed^[7] although the film's return was below average at the box office. The same year, his next film Kirataka was a commercial success. Yash received positive reviews^[8] for his performance in the village comedy film.^[9][10] In 2012 Yash had two major releases, Lucky (opposite Ramya) and Jaanu, both of which met with mixed response^[11] upon release and became average grossers at the box office.^[12][13][14] His next film of the same year, the romantic comedy Drama directed by Yograj Bhat was a commercial success. The film was one of the major grossers of 2012.^[15] His next movie Googly opposite Kriti Kharbanda and directed by Pawan Wadeyar released on 19 July 2013. The film was commercially successful. Raja Huli, directed by Guru Deshpande and with music direction by Nadabrahma Hamsalekha was released on 1 November 2013 on the Karnataka Rajyothsava Day. It went on to commercially successful, mainly due to the Mandya-Kannada Slang being used in the movie. Raja Huli was one more superhit on the lines of his earlier hit, Kirataka. By this time Yash was considered as a running horse by the industry folks and drew country wide attention for his looks and acting skills. He is now seen as a superstar whose returns are bankable and is rated as among the top three in the industry. He was made a brand ambassador of Colors Super channel recently.

Gajakesari, directed by Krishna, was released on 11 April 2014. In the first weekend itself movie had collected approximately 5.5 crores at the box office.^[16] Yash's next movie Mr. and Mrs. Ramachari opposite Radhika Pandit had its theatrical release on 25 December 2014, and opened to positive reviews and collected approx. 50 crores approx.^[17][18][19] In 2015, he acted in Masterpiece,which opened to mixed reviews by the critics and the audience and became a musical hit. In 2016, He starred in Santhu Straight Forward which has become commercial hit at the box-office in spite of creating so much buzz in kannada film industry because of non support from media houses locally.

Personal life

It was speculated in the media that Yash had been in a relationship with actress Radhika Pandit for long, and especially after their film, Mr. and Mrs. Ramachari, that saw them portray the lead pair, and their third time together in films.^[20] Before the two disclosed it in public, their engagement took place in Goa on 12 August 2016.^[21]

Filmography

Key

Denotes films that have not yet been released

Year	Film	Role	Notes
2007	Jambada Hudugi		Supporting role
2008	Moggina Manasu	Rahul
2008	Rocky	Rocky
2009	Kallara Santhe	Somu
2009	Gokula	Raja
2010	Thamassu	Imran	Special appearance
2010	Modalasala	Karthik
2011	Rajadhani	Raja
2011	Kirataka	Nandisha alias Gooli
2012	Lucky	Lucky / Vikram
2012	Jaanu	Siddharth
2012	Drama	Venktesa
2013	Chandra	Himself	Special appearance in song "Tasse Otthu"
2013	Googly	Sharath
2013	Raja Huli	Raja Huli
2014	Gajakesari	Krishna
2014	Mr. and Mrs. Ramachari	Ramachari	Also playback singer for song "Annthamma"
2015	Masterpiece	Yuva	Also playback singer for song "Annange Love Aagide"
2016	Santhu Straight Forward	Santhu
2016	KGF		Filming

Television

Awards and nominations

References

External links

• Official website
• Yash at the Internet Movie Database