Yash

At 16, Yash left Mysore, where he grew up, for Bangalore to work on a film, and joined the Benaka drama troupe. He was born Naveen Kumar on 8 January 1986 in Boovanahalli village in Karnataka's Hassan district; his screen name is a shortened form of Yashwanth, the name his mother's family gave him. Television serials came first, and Jambada Hudugi gave him his film debut in 2007. The Kannada actor, who also produces, is often called Rocking Star by the media. Moggina Manasu (2008) was the breakthrough, and it won him the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor. Rocky, his first solo lead, did not succeed, but Googly, Raja Huli, Mr & Mrs Ramachari, Masterpiece and Santhu Straight Forward established him as a leading man. Prashanth Neel's KGF: Chapter 1 (2018) brought him the Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Kannada. KGF: Chapter 2 (2022) became the top-grossing Kannada film worldwide and made him a name across India. His tally stands at three Filmfare Awards South and five SIIMA Awards. He and his wife, actress Radhika Pandit, run the Yasho Marga Foundation. Later work includes Toxic (2026) and the Hindi epic Ramayana: Rise of a Legend, in which he plays Ravana; after a premiere at the Academy Museum in Los Angeles, it is set for release on 5 November.