KGF: Chapter 1 is a 2018 Indian Kannada-language period action film written and directed by Prashanth Neel, and produced by Vijay Kiragandur under the banner of Hombale Films. It is the first installment in the KGF series, followed by KGF: Chapter 2. The film stars Yash, Srinidhi Shetty, Vasishta N. Simha, Ramachandra Raju, Archana Jois, Anant Nag, Achyuth Kumar, Malavika Avinash, T. S. Nagabharana and B. Suresha. Filmed on a budget of , it was the most expensive Kannada film at the time of its release. In the film, Rocky, a high-ranking mercenary, working for a prominent gold mafia in Bombay, seeks power and wealth in order to fulfill his mother's promise. Due to his high fame, the leaders of the gold mafia where he works hire him to assassinate Garuda, the son of the founder of Kolar Gold Fields.
The film's development began in early 2015, after Neel finished writing the screenplay. Filming began two years later, in January 2017. Most of the film is set in the Kolar Gold Fields and was filmed in locales such as Kolar, Mysore, and parts of North Karnataka. The film's production was completed in August 2018. Bhuvan Gowda handled the cinematography and Srikanth edited the film. Composer Ravi Basrur scored the film.
The Kannada version of K.G.F: Chapter 1 was released on 20 December 2018 and the dubbed versions in Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and Hindi released the next day. The film received positive reviews from critics and dialogues from the film became famous worldwide. The film did well commercially and earned in its entire theatrical run, becoming the highest-grossing Kannada film until it was surpassed by its sequel. It turned out to be a cult hit. At the 66th National Film Awards, the film won two awards for Stunt Choreography and Best Special Effects. At the 66th Filmfare Awards South, the film won two awards from five nominations, including the award for Best Film and Best Actor for Yash.
Plot Journalist Anand Ingalagi's controversial book El Dorado, which documents the history of the Kolar Gold Fields (K.G.F.) from 1951 to 2018, is banned by the Government of India. Despite the prohibition, a television news channel obtains a copy and interviews Ingalagi about the events described in the book.
1951, Raja "Rocky" Krishnappa Bairya is born to Shanti, a poverty-stricken and terminally ill woman. On the very same day, government officials, accompanied by crime lord Suryavardhan, arrive in southern Mysore to investigate a strange yellow stone unearthed by labourers digging a well. Upon discovering that the stone is gold ore, Suryavardhan murders the officials and secures a 99-year lease on the land under the pretence of operating a limestone quarry named Narachi. In reality, he secretly establishes K.G.F. and builds a vast criminal empire around its wealth.
To oversee his operations, Suryavardhan appoints five trusted associates: his ruthless younger brother Adheera, who commands security within K.G.F.; Kamal, the son of Suryavardhan's late associate Bhargav, who supervises the gold refinery in Varca; Rajendra Desai, who manages the transportation of gold shipments; Andrews, who controls gold smuggling along the western coast; and Guru Pandian, leader of the DYSS party, who provides political protection and influence.
After suffering a debilitating stroke, Suryavardhan names his elder son Garuda as the heir to K.G.F., expecting Adheera to remain loyal and support his nephew. However, greed and ambition soon divide the organization, and several of Suryavardhan's associates begin plotting to eliminate Garuda. Adheera eventually attempts to assassinate him but is presumed dead after Garuda retaliates by bombing his vehicle.
Meanwhile, Rocky grows up in the streets of Bombay, driven by a promise he made to his dying mother: to attain immense wealth and power. At the age of ten, he begins working for Shetty, a gold smuggler and subordinate of Andrews, who is locked in a fierce rivalry with Dubai-based crime syndicate leader Inayat Khalil. Over the years, Rocky steadily rises through the ranks and eventually gains control over the arrival of gold shipments along the Bombay coast.
Recognizing Rocky's growing influence and ambition, Andrews offers him complete control of the Bombay underworld in exchange for assassinating Garuda. Rocky accepts the assignment and travels to Bangalore, where a grand ceremony unveiling a statue of Suryavardhan has been organized to lure Garuda out of K.G.F. Desai, Andrews, Kamal, and Andrews' secretary Daya secretly arrange for a pistol to be delivered to Rocky, but the operation fails after Garuda's guards discover the weapon. Garuda later reveals that he replaced his father's statue with one of himself, exposing the conspiracy and asserting his authority.
After witnessing the immense power and fear Garuda commands, Rocky realizes that killing him outside K.G.F. would be nearly impossible. He therefore decides to infiltrate K.G.F. itself. Within the mines, workers abducted from surrounding villages are forced to endure brutal slavery under inhumane conditions. Rocky deliberately allows himself to be captured and transported into K.G.F. disguised as a laborer.
Inside the mines, Rocky secretly obtains a map of the facility from the maintenance room during a roll call. He narrowly escapes death after a fellow slave sacrifices himself in an attempt to save his pregnant wife. Believing Rocky to have been killed, Andrews, Kamal, and Desai assume the mission has failed.
Initially indifferent to the suffering around him, Rocky undergoes a profound change after witnessing a guard mercilessly murder a woman and her child. Enraged, he single-handedly fights and kills an entire squad of twenty-three guards to protect a blind elderly slave. The act transforms him into a symbol of hope among the oppressed workers. Rocky then orders the slaves to burn the guards' bodies so news of his survival reaches Andrews and his associates through informants Kulkarni and Garuda's younger brother Virat.
As Garuda prepares to investigate the disturbance, Virat murders the bedridden Suryavardhan in an attempt to divert him back to the palace. Exploiting the chaos, Rocky uses the map to navigate a hidden tunnel connecting the mines to Garuda's mansion.
Disturbed by the escalating unrest, Garuda reschedules the annual Maa Kaali ritual for the following day. During the ceremony, he plans to execute three captured assassins as offerings to the goddess before turning against his father's former allies. However, Vanaram, the head of security, discovers that one of the assassins has already been killed inside his prison cell and realizes that an intruder has infiltrated the mansion.
As Garuda publicly beheads two of the captives during the ritual, Rocky—disguised as the third assassin—suddenly reveals himself and decapitates Garuda before the stunned crowd. The enslaved workers erupt in celebration and accept Rocky as their new leader.
Ingalagi concludes that Rocky deliberately chose K.G.F. as the site of Garuda's assassination in order to ignite rebellion among the oppressed workers and build an army capable of seizing control of the gold empire. However, he hints that this victory marks only the beginning of Rocky's rise to power.
News of Garuda's death quickly spreads across the criminal underworld and political circles, reaching Inayat Khalil and Ramika Sen, the future Prime Minister of India. Adheera, revealed to have survived the earlier assassination attempt, prepares to re-emerge and reclaim his place within the empire. Meanwhile, Desai, Kamal, Andrews, Daya, Khalil, and Shetty each celebrate Garuda's death for their own reasons. As Vanaram orders his forces to attack Rocky and the liberated workers, a gunshot rings out.
Cast
Production
Pre-production Following the success of Mr. and Mrs. Ramachari (2014), Yash signed for four projects as of March 2015, including one with director Prashanth Neel (of Ugramm fame). The project, KGF, about an ambitious man and his life in the 1970s, was considered to be one of the most expensive films in Kannada cinema. Hombale Films, the production house led by Vijay Kiragandur, bankrolled the project, and one of its production executive Karthik Gowda, stated that "KGF, which is set in the 70s, took over one and a half years of pre-production, because they wanted to ensure they got every single detail right, be it the matchboxes, telephone, or the clothes people wore." The film's director, Prashanth Neel, stated that the film would be launched in April 2016, and the shooting would begin in May 2016. Ravi Basrur, who earlier scored music for the director's Ugramm, was hired for the project, while Bhuvan Gowda handled the cinematography.
In an interview with The Times of India, Prashanth Neel stated that he planned to split the film in two parts, as the narration of the story is in a non-linear format. The decision to split the film into two parts also had to do with its commercial prospects. He further added “The scale of the project is huge and we had a scope for a beginning, an interval, and an end for both parts, so it made sense for us to release it as two parts”. As for the decision to make it a multilingual release, he says that it was because the film is based on a unique idea and has a universal theme. About the rumours of doing KGF as a "Tamil version, with Suriya being roped in, but failing to do so", he stated that it was meant to be a Kannada film.
In December 2020, during the making of its second installment, Prasanth Neel denied rumours of a third installment in the KGF franchise, claiming that the story would conclude in its second part.
Development The film's cast consists mostly of completely new faces. The cast members sported rugged looks, given the subject and setting of the film. Yash grew his beard and long hair for his role as Rocky, a slick and a suave person of the 1970s. Bangalore-based model Srinidhi Shetty, a winner of the Miss Supranational 2016, was cast alongside Yash. Srinidhi, a self-confessed fan of Yash, claimed that she had watched his films Drama and Mr. and Mrs. Ramachari, and stated that he is one of the actors to whom she looks forward. In August 2017, Vasishta Simha bagged a pivotal role in the film, while Ramya Krishnan and Nassar were falsely reported to be a part of the film.
In July 2016, the filmmakers kick-started a 15-day schedule in North Karnataka, without Yash, as the actor was shooting for Santhu Straight Forward (2016). The first schedule of the film took place on a huge set, which took more than 35–40 days to construct. The film was slated to take off earlier that year, but was pushed back because of problems surrounding the Kalasa Banduri issue, which meant the team had to cancel its initial shoot schedule plans. The schedule was further complicated by Yash's break from shooting films, in order to focus on his wedding to Radhika Pandit, which was held in Bangalore in December 2016.
Filming The film's shooting began on 15 January 2017, after completing the final stages of pre-production. On 25 January 2017, the filmmakers erected huge sets at Badami, to replicate Kolar in the period of 1970–80, thereby filming extensively in the location. The art director Shivakumar recreated the Kolar Gold Fields film set of the 1980s and VFX was used as an extension for the film. Aware that a freak accident happened at the sets of Masti Gudi (2017), claiming the lives of two actors, producer Kirangadur secured an insurance cover for the crew members working on the film. As of 25 June 2017, the project was 50 percent complete, and production had restarted after sets were rebuilt, following their destruction by heavy rains.