Will Rocking Star Yash announce his next on his birthday, after all?

When the trailer of KGF: Chapter 2 was much-awaited, fans of Rocking Star Yash were hopeful that the makers would give them a sneak peek on the actor’s birthday, in January this year. Yash’s birthday falls on January 8 and the first KGF-2 teaser had been released on his big day in 2021. Naturally, fans held high hopes of a repeat of sorts in 2022 too. However, speaking at an event for his pal Krishna Ajai Rao’s film in December last year, Yash had categorically ruled out the possibility, as the film was still months away from release, making a January trailer not a feasible proposition. The Rocking Star is not averse to special announcements on his birthday, but this year, the odds were not in that favour.

His upcoming birthday, though, is a different story. Over the last 7-8 months, #Yash 19 has become one of the most widely discussed and anticipated films. Industry insiders and movie goers are heavily invested in finding out just what Yash will choose to do as his next film after KGF-2. Rumours have been flying around about collaborations with director Narthan and Shankar, or that KGF: Chapter 3 could be next. In fact, upon the success of KGF-2, Vijay Kiragandur or Hombale Films had jumped the gun and not only confirmed a third instalment, as hinted in the post-credit scene of the second film, but also said that they could possibly go on floors as early as October.

This, however, was negated by Karthik Gowda, also of the production house. KGF-3, he said, would happen at some point, but not so soon. In fact, Yash has also been saying that there is a script in development that he is looking at doing next. At a recent event in Mumbai, the actor reiterated that he wants to do something else before returning to play Rocky Bhai. Considering that Yash has been maintaining his KGF look, including the long locks and beard, it was speculated that he could be doing a cameo in Prashant Neel’s ongoing film for Hombale Films, Salaar, as Rocky Bhai and that he would then start working on KGF-3 after all.

Currently, the buzz is that some information about his 19thfilm will be made public by the end of the year, like, for instance, whether it is KVN Productions that is backing it, as is being rumoured, whether it is Narthan or any other director, among others. The first look and title reveal is what is then expected on January 8, 2023.

Netizens have been busy speculating that KGF cinematographer Bhuvan Gowda, who is currently busy with Salaar, will return to crank the camera for Yash’s next, while Ravi Basrur and Anirudh Ravichandar are the likely candidates for music director. All eyes are now on Yash, as fans and industry stakeholders await news on #Yash19. The actor is at a career high, similar to what Prabhas had after Baahubali, but the latter has, since then, not been able to maintain that success. It is, therefore, imperative that Yash chooses wisely whatever he decides to do next.