Trade analyst Ramesh Bala believes Toxic is one of the most anticipated Indian films of the year, with Yash enjoying immense pan-India popularity after the blockbuster success of K.G.F.: Chapter 2. While he expects the action thriller to open big at the box office, Bala says Yash’s claim to the top spot among pan-India stars will ultimately depend on Toxic’s long-term success. In this conversation, he also weighs in on Yash’s acclaimed first look as Ravana in Ramayana, compares him with Prabhas and Allu Arjun, and explains why Ranbir Kapoor’s portrayal of Lord Ram has faced greater scrutiny.
What is your take on Toxic being another A-rated theatrical release and what do you think of Yash?
“Yash is a big star. He’s coming after the huge success of K.G.F: Chapter 2. So, he’s a big pan-India action superstar. So, there is a lot of expectations, both in the North and South. The trailer is coming out on Saturday, but the teaser and whatever we have seen so far, shows a big-budget action movie, with a lot of actresses are there in the movie. So, it should get a big opening.”
“It’s not only releasing pan-India but also worldwide. I think it will open say around 200 crores… something like Pushpa 2, it will open.”
Is Yash one of the biggest pan-India stars today?
“Yash is certainly one of the biggest pan-India stars because he commands a good fan following across North and South. He comes from the Kannada film industry, but K.G.F: Chapter 2 was a huge hit. Both the K.G.Fs are big hits in pan-India and overseas also. So, a lot of expectations are there.”
“So, if the movie is as good as K.G.F: Chapter 2, then it will be a blockbuster. We have to wait and see how Geetu Mohandas has made the movie. The violence and action is there, but how the story, screenplay, we have to see if it is as interesting, as good as K.G.F: Chapter 2. That is the golden standard for any mass masala gangster movie. So, it can’t be just mindless violence. It has to have a good screenplay.”
Has Yash now pushed Allu Arjun and Prabhas behind to reach the top number one?
“He’s on par with all of them in terms of pan-India popularity. Prabhas, Allu Arjun, Yash are more or less at the same level. All the three come from South, but they have pan-India popularity. Prabhas has done a lot of movies. Allu Arjun probably has done few movies. Yash is coming up after K.G.F films. Ramayana is also there. So, he’s very popular.”
There are a lot of expectations from Ramayan too…
“Yes. Ramayan is releasing on Diwali, in which he’s playing Ravana role. The response to the teaser was good. Everybody appreciated Yash as Ravana. So, he got a clean chit there. And Toxic is totally opposite kind of a movie, toxic masculinity or whatever.”
Do you think Yash is the new number one pan-India star or is it too early for you to say that?
“I will wait till Toxic’s success. If Toxic also succeeds lifetime collections of K.G.F: Chapter 2, then we can say he is the new pan-India star. But we have to wait and see how the movie is going to do. Opening will be good, but we have to see how the movie’s content is. If it doesn’t do well, then it will be a problem. You are judged by your last movie.”
“We have to wait till the month end or the beginning of next month to declare Yash as the new number one depending on the success of Toxic.”
Why do you think Yash has been accepted by the audience as Ravana but Ranbir Kapoor has been trolled for playing Ram?
“Basically when anybody does a negative role, villain role, he gets appreciated, they get more claps, you know. This happened in the past also with different stars playing the negative role or the villain role. A baddie has a lot of room to maneuver. The good guy has to maintain an image on screen, so how much heroism can he project?”
“But the bad guy can project a lot of heroism through his negative activities and his dialogues and stuff. So, for Yash, it is working out. In both the cases, his dialogues and his screen presence is working out. Obviously in Ranbir’s case, it’s Lord Ram, so a very pious character, so it will be very difficult to pull off in the trailer. We have to watch the movie. The mass scenes will always belong to the baddie, the negative guy. The guy playing the good role has to wait for some time. It will be a slow pickup for him.”
But are you hopeful that Ranbir will be able to pull it off?
“I think yeah, he looks like Ram, so I’m sure he’ll pull it off. Since Ramayan will be released in two parts, we have to wait for both the parts and see. Just now we have seen the trailer. I think we have to see the actual movie and then judge. But I’m sure he would have done well also.”
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