A film that had hype unlike any other in recent times across the country, KGF: Chapter 2, the sequel to the 2018 blockbuster KGF: Chapter 1, has turned out to be a sensational money-spinner at the box office and is currently the third highest-grossing venture in Indian cinema history with a worldwide gross crossing more than 1000 crores at the box office. The Kannada film, which garnered a pan-Indian release, also came out in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, and Malayalam languages, making director Prashanth Neel and actor Yash widely recognized names among film aficionados and movie buffs. In that light, director Prashanth Neel recently sat down for an interview with National Award-winning film critic Baradwaj Rangan, the Editor-in-Chief of Galatta Plus, where he revealed the reason for choosing the name 'Rocky' for the protagonist in the KGF films.
Prashanth Neel said, "Yash had done a movie called Rocky a long time back. And, we were thinking about the nicknames to put up there. Initially, I had come up with Sanskrit king names for which he had eyeballed me a couple of times. And, then it was just a spur of the moment and I thought about it once and said, 'What if they called him Rocky?' And, we decided to fly with it. I don't think there was a proper design to it and as far as I remember, it was very impromptu."
KGF: Chapter 2 released on April 14 worldwide took a stunning opening in cinemas worldwide and ended on a cliffhanger note leaving fans to speculate whether Yash as Rocky had managed to survive or not. The excitement shot up after the makers hinted at KGF: Chapter 3, with producer Vijay Kiragandur of Hombale Films informing fans that a film is indeed being possible, with no plans at present to roll into pre-production anytime soon.
Watch Prashanth Neel talk about the KGF films and more in the video below: