10 years of Raja Huli: The film that firmly cemented Yash as ‘The Next Big Thing’

For a large section of audiences, Rocking Star Yash’s claim to fame maybe the KGF saga, but Kannada audiences know that the actor was well on his way to stardom many years before the Prashant Neel film took the nation by storm. 2013, for instance, was a big year for Yash, when he notched up not one, but two hits – Googly and then Raja Huli – within the span of a few months. The latter, Raja Huli, celebrates a decade of its release today on Kannada Rajyotsava.

Directed by Guru Deshpande, Raja Huli was big money spinner even though it was the Kannada remake of a Tamil film called Sundarapandian. The film reportedly made Rs 50 crore at the box office, which was a big deal back in the day. The success of Raja Huli, which came after films like Drama and Googly, which were also well received, cemented Yash as the next big thing in the Kannada film industry. Raja Huli was Meghana Raj’s comeback film in Kannada after nearly three years, a time in which she had a very successful stint in Malayalam cinema. “#Rajahuli will always be a very special film in my career. I’ll cherish the journey of this film all my life,” wrote Guru Deshpande on the film’s milestone occasion.

According to fans, Raja Huli was better than the Tamil original, with Yash’s Gowdru attitude, Meghana’s acting, Chikkanna’s clean comedy and Hamsalekha’s great score among the film’s major highlights. The film is considered one of the best remakes not only in Yash’s career, but in Kannada cinema as well. And while fans celebrated ‘a decade of RajaHuli roar’ on social media, they were, of course, also hoping fervently for word on the actor’s next, #Yash19, an update of which is said to be in the works shortly.

Raja Huli, meanwhile, is available to stream on Sun NXT.