Kannada star Yash optimistic about upcoming action-period drama 'KGF'

Kannada star Yash says the intention with his latest action-period drama "KGF" is to match Hollywood style of filmmaking, something which he believes the Kannada industry is capable of.

The film, written and directed by Prashanth Neel, is set in the 70s and 80s era featuring high octane action sequences.

"I always believed our industry has a huge potential. Our intention was not to match Telugu or Hindi films, it is to match Hollywood films. All of us use the same camera, lens or same technicalities. To get the best out of this is our ambition," Yash told reporters.

The actor was speaking at the trailer launch of "KGF" here. The film's Hindi version will be presented by Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani's Excel Entertainment.

Farhan, who wasn't able to make it to the event, in a video message said he is proud to be a part of the film and "present it to a new audience."

Yash, who is one of the topmost stars of Kannada cinema, said he was grateful to Farhan and team for presenting the film to an audience which otherwise didn't always have the access to Kannada films on big screen.

"Our films have been releasing in Hindi and our dubbed films have been doing pretty well. That gave us confidence. Wherever I went, people recognised me from the YouTube versions of my films. We also watch a lot of hindi films," he said.

"All of us have to respect each other's work. If someone from any part of the country wants to watch our films, we have to give them the opportunity to watch it. That's our responsibility," he added.

Neel said he is humbled by the opportunity to direct "KGF" despite feeling like he had "made the worst movie ever" a day before his debut "Ugramm" released and went on to become a blockbuster in 2014.

"For four years I've been thinking about this date, the release date. I am thankful for all the people who made this happen, including Yash. His career is going phenomenal heights. With this film, there is so much pressure which comes from expectations of fans," he said.

"The audience always thought the film is going to be huge. We made the film keeping in mind the Kannada audience and then decided to take it to other audience. We can't wait to see the response," he added.

The film will have a massive release in five languages- Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Hindi on December 21.

The Hindi version will clash with Shah Rukh Khan's "Zero" but Yash says both films can co-exist.

"I strongly believe there will be space for not one but two or three films. Our film is releasing in five languages, so we had to have a date suitable to all versions. It (the clash) is not intentional but this date was good for all the distributors," Yash .

"We will of course have a big competition in Hindi but that's ok. If both the film are good, people will watch," he added.

The film is produced by Vijay Kiragandur under the banner Hombale films and also features Srinidhi Shetty.

(With inputs from agencies.)