The Hindu Business Line : Yash the year round

A couple of guys trying to pick up likely gals at a bar get into identical conversation. "I am the casting director for Yash Chopra," brags one. The girl, who has been till then acting totally disinterested, swoons. "I will do anything for a role," she says meltingly. The same scenario is being repeated on the other side of the room, with the other guy-girl combo. The guys get found out. The girls slap their faces, and stalk off. The mortified fellows turn around, face the camera, and say, "sorry, Yash uncle, karna padta hai. Aur koi Bollywood mein chalta nahin hai na."

This little sequence happened not in real life, but reel life. The film (Kya Love Story Hai) came and went last fortnight, but the sequence has resonance for industry watchers, insiders, and rivals. As well as for viewers who associate films from the Yashraj banner with the biggest stars, eye-catching locales, memorable melodies, and `good clean family entertainment'.

Last week, Yashraj Films (YRF) released Tara Rum Pum, starring Saif Ali Khan and Rani Mukherji. And for the rest of the year they have one release almost every month. Up next is Jhoom Barabar (Abhishek-Preity). August has Chak De India (Shah Rukh), followed by Lagaa Chunari Mein Daag (Rani-Jaya-Konkona), and Aaja Nach Le (Madhuri Dixit's comeback). The line-up for the next couple of years is also in the works: in 2008, nine; and in 2009, 12 films. Looks as if there will always be a Yashraj film at your neighbouring multiplex from now on.

Yash and success

It's not as if nothing else works in Bollywood. But it's also an indisputable fact that in the past 10 years YRF has consolidated its position as a production house which conquers the box office consistently. Consider these figures, officially declared by YRF: their last 12 films have grossed in excess of $200 million worldwide. In 2004, the biggest Bollywood grossers (domestic and overseas) were YRF films — Veer Zaara (Rs 150 crore), Dhoom (Rs 65 crore), and Hum Tum (Rs 51 crore). In 2005, Bunty Aur Babli amassed Rs 84 crore, and Salaam Namaste Rs 56 crore on the same count. In 2006, the story was repeated with Dhoom 2 (Rs 162 crore), and Fanaa (Rs 126 crore).

The figures don't tell you the full story, of course. (Unsurprisingly, there's a whole subterranean groundswell of gossip and heartburn that generally goes with super-success, but given that it is one of the most powerful studio set-ups in the country, no one wants to go on record; nor does anyone from YRF. This writer was told that the official spokesperson was out of the country, and `Yashji doesn't talk on business matters'.) It's also the story of a one-man business transitioning into a studio system, whose umbrella services now include production, distribution, music labels, and a modern studio. If you go by what they say on their corporate CD, you can walk into their offices today and go back with a complete film, minus the locations.

The change from a mom-and-pop operation into a corporate one, spearheaded by Bollywood's best-kept secret weapon Aditya Chopra, is a demand of our times. But it's also interesting to see the kind of movies that Yashraj has made over the past 34 years: several films from their line-up have been landmarks in pushing the envelope in terms of stories and styling.

Magic formula

Daag, its first production, directed by Yash, came out in 1973. It was a love triangle, but it was not told in the same-old style: a strong theme, and the biggest stars of that time, Rajesh Khanna, Rakhee, and Sharmila Tagore, made the film an instant hit.

And created the Yash Chopra formula. Get the stars, surround them with tulips in Holland, or slopes in Switzerland (now Brooklyn bridge in New York), lilting music and a strong plotline, and you have a hit on your hands.

Deewar starring Amitabh Bachchan was a departure from the `come fall in love' theme that Yash Chopra propagates; so was Trishul. But if you look at it, love was paramount here too, just that instead of a pretty woman, it is the love of a mother and son, which drives the plot. But it was Kabhi Kabhie (1976) which became the start of the gentle romances that Yash did so well: there is loss and betrayal there too, but you remember Amitabh's shaayari, Rakhee's white shararas and dreamy eyes, and Shashi Kapoor's masti, more than anything else.

A couple of other films were ahead of their times. Ten years separated Silsila (1981) and Lamhe (1991), but both had themes which were provocative and novel, and the movies didn't do as well as they should have. Yash Chopra slid back into safe mode, especially when Chandni (an unkind critic called it a compendium of 64 soft-focus angles of Sridevi) became a smash success: again it had two men, one woman, and true love.

But it was Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge (1995), Aditya Chopra's directorial debut, which really catapulted YRF into the front ranks. It had the strengths his father had perfected, but the feel was very 1990s, very youthful. The love story of Simran and Raj was set in sylvan Europe and Punjab's sarson ke khet; the balance between good old-fashioned storytelling, and slick packaging was introduced in this one. It didn't hurt of course that Shah Rukh and Kajol sizzled on screen. DDLJ has gone on to become the longest running Hindi movie (11 years, 600 weeks), and a cult romance.

New crop of directors

YRF's move — to cultivate a bunch of young directors who will direct their movies under the production house's banner — began a few years ago. After all, how many movies could father-and-son direct between them? Among them are Kunal Kohli (Hum Tum and Fanaa), Siddharth Anand (Salaam Namaste, and last week's Tara Rum Pum), Shaad Ali (Bunty Aur Babli and Jhoom Barabar), Sanjay Gadhvi (the two Dhoom movies), Pradeep Sarkar (Lagaa Chunari Mein Daag), Shimit Amin (Chak De), and Anil Mehta (Aaja Nach Le).

The only problem with having a YRF stamp on all movies, though, is becoming evident. Last week's Tara Rum Pum didn't have as strong an opening as a Yashraj movie usually enjoys; most theatres countrywide reported between 50-60 per cent collections, but follow-up reports say that Saturday and Sunday were back to being house-full.

Too much of a muchness can kill movies. The trick will be to stay on track, and give us new.