Learn English with Yash. In 2022 at Film Companion Front Row in Bengaluru, Rocking Star Yash speaks with Anupama Chopra about conviction, merit, and setting bold goals after the global success of KGF. He explains why being real matters more than hype and how vision, discipline, and the right team can change an industry.
Who This Speech Is For
Learners inspired by cinema, storytelling, and the journey of actors who built their careers from scratch.
Fans of Indian English who want to practise listening to interviews rich in personal anecdotes.
Students of motivational speeches looking to understand conviction, merit, and vision in action.
How This Speech Helps Your English
Learn everyday expressions from interviews and live conversations.
Expand vocabulary on films, ambition, and personal growth.
Hear how humour and humility can make English sound more natural.
Observe how clear articulation and conviction make ideas impactful.
Why This Speech Matters
Yash shares the philosophy that shaped his rise from theatre to global success with KGF.
He challenges nepotism and encourages audiences to value merit.
His vision for the Kannada film industry shows how local cinema can earn worldwide respect.
This conversation reveals discipline, focus, and the power of believing in big goals.
”Be real, not perfect
Transcript
Anupama Chopra: Thank you. Yash, will they let us talk or no? So folks, I’m a film critic. My job is to look at films, not so much at box office, but this man doesn’t give me a choice. Right? What a year you’ve had. What a year. A 1250 crores box office for KGF2 global grossing. Guys, guys, 54 crores, only the Hindi version opening, which is a record in Bollywood that has not been broken. I’m going to need some crowd control from you.
Yash: Sorry.
Anupama Chopra: You’re going to have to help with the crowd control.
Yash: Yes, yes.
Anupama Chopra: So, Yash, you and that film have been instrumental in bringing audiences back to the theatres this year. Why do you think Rocky Bhai connected so strongly just across the world?
Yash: See, generally what happens is, in our previous interview also I think we discussed about this. So, the issues what masses have or they need some kind of inspiration, they need somebody to motivate them. So, that may not come from books or from… they may not attend some personality development course. Cinema is one such medium. I know it’s about action, gangster, all of that, but deep down that’s about one common man who has got lot of difficulties and nothing is easy or ideal situation for him but he surpasses all the difficulties in style with conviction and he goes and he achieves it. That is something which everybody today wants to do or connect because we need to give them confidence. Most of the people, they are crushed in the beginning. The society tells you that…. This is how… If comes to… If I have to speak about my industry, this is how a star should be. This is how it should look. This is what, these are the type of clothes he should have. So there is some set rules where society is unknowingly pushing it on youngsters or today’s generation. So, they’re confused, including me. I was confused. So the moment you realize it’s all within you and if you decide nothing can stop you and everything will change. You can change. Change doesn’t happen on its own. You have to take actions. So if they realize that, then they will definitely get inspired. Rocky did that to them and I think there is Rocky in everybody is what I feel.
Anupama Chopra: You know, one of my favorite scenes in the film is early on, you get down from the helicopter, you put yourself at the head of the table where all the other bad guys have gathered right and then you drop that killer line about nepotism which I just loved and then you say I’ve got here on merit. Right Rocky bhai is saying I’ve got here on merit and a little later in that scene you say that you can’t create another Rocky bhai to kill me because there’s one and only piece. Now that, that Yash is also you, right? You are here on merit, you are a single piece. I want to talk to you about this conviction, okay? Because you, you go back to it in your conversation a lot. What does conviction mean on a day to day basis? How do you have, like what do you do on a day to day basis? You wake up and do what to have that belief?
Yash: I think to answer your first portion, when we put that nepotism, that was not, there was no such development in the industry. That was shot much before lockdown and all of that. So the idea was it’s a burning issue. So it doesn’t mean that people who have come from film background or film family, it’s not against them. Nepotism according to me is not about somebody, some actor’s son or some producer’s son coming into industry. It’s not about that. It’s about them trying to put others down, acting as if they are blue blood or they are royalty. That is wrong. So, that’s there in most of the fields. It’s not just cinema. But cinema it’s visible and people talk about it, criticize and it’s like little vulnerable industry. If not everywhere that is there, but if as a country or as a society we have to evolve or go to next level, we should encourage talent, we should encourage merit. So the idea was even in gangsters, even in underworld, if you are talking about nepotism, that was a confusion. When I, just you know we were discussing, I said this is the best time to tell him nepotism, so everybody is like, isn’t it too high a word, will people understand? I don’t know, then that became like a big thing everywhere, everybody started discussing. So then most of the people understood. But the point is not to put anybody down from the industry, it’s to inspire any individual. For me, from the beginning, all I had is confidence and vision. And when I look at people who are trying to intimidate you with power or with just the background, if you do it, good, we respect you. But at the same time, because somebody has done it in your family or that, we give you love, we respect you. When you mutually respect everybody, that’s fine in any industry, but don’t use it as a weapon to intimidate others. So, somebody like me, I think it’s most of the people’s issue and they have it in them. Somebody like me, if I represent, then that’s when the city comes.
And on a daily basis, I think all of us go through that. I am not somebody who is like 24/7 confident or I am not somebody, but most of the time I am. Because I don’t think about what to lose or… it’s about you, you be yourself and whole world will sense it. If you try to act, if you try to pretend or if you try to impress someone, that’s when you lose respect. If you be yourself and if you don’t care about, not with arrogance, if you don’t care about what others are thinking about you, judging you, then everybody will like you if you are real and if you have that confidence. I think it’s a constant process. I get inspired by looking at lot of other fellow actors or competition is something which I feel it is very important in the industry. I always been telling about it. It’s not just about one individual. So I always tell KGF was not to intimidate. It is the vision of KGF was to inspire. And I wanted everybody to believe that anybody can go out and achieve. It’s not like we are not inferior or it’s not like an impossible task. I always believe everybody comes to this world as a baby. I’ve never seen or come across any story where somebody is come with all might and power. So they all develop it. So if they can, even we can.
That’s about it. You keep motivating yourself, keep set a goal. That’s what I believe in. You set a goal and then take actions what it requires and what kind of people you have to associate and they just keep going, don’t care about rest of the things. Success and failure is like, it’s not… trust me when I say this, even after this success, it’s not success which gives us happiness, it’s about the journey, when you see that, when nobody else is even thinking of it or if they can’t imagine but you are seeing it absolutely with such clarity that it’s as if it’s there waiting for you, that’s the fun part. So set a high goal, set a goal… which should look like, there is a saying, if you tell your goal, people should be scared, if not it is not a goal. Buying a house, buying a car or settling down, having a good family is not a goal, that’s basic. We will end up, set high goals and I think individually everybody can, if everybody starts thinking like that, many things can happen for this country. Because we just talk about our country was great back then, our civilization was like that. So I can go on and on about this topic because I love, because that changed my life. Belief system changed my life.
Anupama Chopra: You know what intrigues me, Yash, is that after this massive blockbuster, you didn’t give 30 interviews, okay? You didn’t post creatives talking about box office here, opening there. You in fact didn’t give any interviews. You just went quiet, which is a very unique way to approach stardom. Why have you chosen this?
Yash: I think that’s how an actor should be or a star should be because we are the channel for the dream world. I am like the bridge. They need to pass through us when they see some actors or some stories, they listen to stories through those characters, through us, they travel. If it is too much about me and if they know everything about me, I don’t know where they will be able to relate to those characters. So for me, I think it’s my job, one. Second, and I don’t believe in going out and talking about… you know, this is saying, if you are a king, if you are telling you are a king, then you are not a king. So, anybody who has success… anybody who has success or doing really great in life, I don’t think they have to go out and show that they are successful or doing it. People will know it. I know my audience or my fans, all of them are really smart. We are trying to cope up because they consume lot of content, they understand the world better. So if I think I am smart and I am trying to project something, they will read it. “Okay, this guy is doing this because he wants to show he is bigger than that actor or this actor.” So you better be real and they will sense it and they will tell the whole world. I think it’s nice when it comes from people.
Anupama Chopra: How fabulous. Speaking of conquering, what is the next big world domination plan?
Yash: Remember I told you, once I told you audience will tell me what to do next. You asked me, what do you mean by audience or people will tell you? See if you listen to them you will know.
Anupama Chopra: Hollywood?
Yash: They are thinking Hollywood. No, when I say it’s not about Hollywood, it’s about trying to achieve things which always looked like only they can do or again same thing, it’s not that as a country also we have so many such inhibitions. You know what, the best CG company in the world or the one of the best who are doing good is an Indian. I met him, Namit. He has got so many Oscars. So, happy to see our people going and achieving those things and establishing. And like that there are so many people there also who are working there and they have understood that market, all of that. But now it is time to see what we can do as an industry. I think most of the people are looking towards that. And as we have India on our side, we can take that challenge because the kind of budgets we can put or the kind of support audience are giving. And some people even say it’s not about budget, it’s about content. Yes, true. But there are certain things. To achieve certain kind of film, you need that budget or you need that. So we can take that kind of responsibility. We’ll try. And there are so many people who might do that in our country. But I think we all should take inspiration from each other and keep trying. That’s it.
Anupama Chopra: But Yash, give us little more. When will you announce?
Yash: No, I’m not saying my next film will be Hollywood or that. You just ask me what’s next. For me, my vision is let me go towards it. Let me work towards content. Let me work with people who are hungry and passionate. I don’t want to work with people who are looking at my box office number and come and tell me that, “Okay, we’ll do this film so we can film.” No, I want to work with people who say, “You know, you have done this. You can do this.” Or, “Can we try something else here?” Or, “Let us do this, something, you know, very exciting.” That is where I’m looking at. I think I’m working on a couple of things. But the fact is I have met couple of people, their vision is good, they have come up with good scripts or I have also spent time with couple of people working on scripts. But somewhere I think all of it starts with are we aligned? Is the vision same? Because as an individual story that might be good, may not work for what I want to achieve now or where I want to go. There are certain talented directors who I just worked with but I don’t think their exposure or what they are thinking right now is not the same thing. So we are just aligning and I think I have been looking for it.
I don’t want to talk much because there is nothing left. After that, anybody won’t be excited if I come out and tell because they will have an idea. But I am working, I am not taking this success for granted. 24/7 from morning tonight, I just think of cinema, I just think of people, I always believed whenever they have given me success, it is not because what I have done, it is because of what they see in me, what they want me to do. So, I know what they are expecting out of me, at least I’ll try doing it. That’s all I can say. It’s something very nice which I will enjoy. I don’t know how they will feel it. But it’s good. It’s things are going well. But it will take time. In my head there is no time. For me time is irrelevant. As far as I’m waking up early in the morning, hitting the gym, doing all my actor duties plus 24/7, I’m brainstorming of doing, giving a better product, giving a good for them, how can things go wrong? I don’t, I am not doing things which is irrelevant to my industry. I am just trying to do what it takes to make a good film. So it should fall in place, it will. Looks like it is falling in place. That’s all I can say.
Anupama Chopra: Lovely. We hope soon. Soon.
Yash: Very soon. See I… No, no, no. The problem is I know all of you are expecting on Jayanidhi. That’s my birthday. I really want to but if it is half-baked, I don’t think I will come out because for me it is not about me, it is not about my birthday, nothing. It’s about the product, it’s about the project, when it is right, right time, I will come out and tell. Please, I want you people to understand that I am not irresponsible, I am not having fun with the success, I am really trying to get things right.
Anupama Chopra: Lovely.
Yash: That’s all I can say.
Anupama Chopra: Lovely.
