Shah Rukh with Aamir in Mumbai on Tuesday. (AP)

Mumbai, April 7: They hugged and gave a show of Khan power, a combined six-pack punch aimed at the plexes.

Shah Rukh and Aamir, Bollywood royalty who are said to be fighting a cold war, today joined forces against multiplexes which are locked in a standoff with producers and distributors over revenue sharing.

The superstars, who also own production houses, shared the platform with Bollywood biggies under the umbrella of the United Producers and Distributors Forum to explain why they have refused to yield to the exhibitors.

Bollywood producers and distributors had decided in February to stop releasing new films in plexes from April 4.

This is the first time the two Khans have shared a platform in years, their cold war having its roots in film awards, over the numero uno position in the industry and even stretching to cyberspace.

But though they were seated side by side, neither let go of the opportunity to take jibes at the other. In reply to a question about their rift, Shah Rukh said: “We are all intelligent people here, though I am a little less intelligent than Aamir.”

Aamir was quick with his repartee: “Yaar, now let’s get out boxing gloves and start boxing then.”

Producer Karan Johar, a Shah Rukh buddy who was instrumental in getting the two to share the stage today, immediately banned all questions relating to the “rift”.

A little later, as if to make up for the earlier indiscretion, the two stars suddenly hugged even as Ronnie Screwvala of UTV attempted to underline that the tussle had nothing to do with the financial slowdown.

“This is the result of a deadlock following months of dialogue with the multiplexes. It has got nothing to do with recession,” insisted Screwvala as SRK in his own witty style called the process “a repair-job” in the “delivery pipeline” of films.

But the six-pack Om Shanti Om producer-star let Aamir, who recently said Shah Rukh knew little about marketing, do most of the talking.

“The industry can survive only if all sectors earn in fairness. Until that happens, the industry cannot be healthy and happy. I think it should be a partnership of equals (50-50). Distributors and exhibitors have to find a way to make it a viable business within their fifty per cent. Within my fifty per cent I have to make it profitable,” said Aamir, who also toned up his body for the action flick Ghajini.

A top forum source, however, made it clear that sharing a platform did not mean a patch-up between SRK and Aamir, who had once written in his blog about a dog he had named Shah Rukh.

“It is a business requirement. The industry is in trouble and both have some big films coming a few months later. So they want to resolve this issue as soon as possible. Initially they had sent a letter of consent to show their support, but did not attend the meetings. But the forum wanted them to come together for this and they did because the industry is bigger than the individual,” the source said.

While producers want the revenue sharing to be even, exhibitors want to peg it to the performance of a film.

“The current 60:40, and at times 70:30, ratio in which the plexes share revenue with us is very unfair. We want to implement the Hollywood model of 50:50 sharing. But the plexes are being adamant. We need to fight them together,” said producer Mukesh Bhatt, who is on the forum committee negotiating with the multiplexes.

Almost 65 per cent of Indian box office earnings come from plexes, which charge more for tickets than do older, single-screen theatres.

“The high price of tickets is also an issue of distress for us. We want more and more people to see our films, but the high ticket rates discourage them. We do not have any say in the matter of ticket pricing as of now,” said Aamir.

Multiplex officials said their pricing was justified. “All multiplexes follow a system of flexible pricing wherein one can watch the same film for Rs 50 as well as Rs 250. If we reduce ticket rates, we will go back to the days of broken seats, dirty toilets and unclean auditoriums,” said Alok Tandon, chief operating officer, INOX.

Faced with a glut in releases, multiplexes are devising their own ways of keeping the business going. “We wanted to show IPL matches on big screens, but the organisers want us to shell out money to exhibit them. IPL broadcaster Sony too has come up with some demands. So we have dropped the idea. Many theatre companies are hiring multiplexes to put up plays in our auditoriums. We are also exhibiting regional and small budget films of producers who agree to the existing 70:30 model,” said the CEO of a multiplex chain.

Shah Rukh said he hoped that not many of the small and regional filmmakers would break rank. He reserved a terse message for the Anjan Dutt-directed Bengali film Chowrasta - Crossroads of Love, expected to release in multiplexes on April 17.

“I am sure they have got an amazingly shameful deal — some pittance. I would only request them to let the big guys fight this war for them because eventually they will also be gainers,” he said as Aamir nodded in agreement.

Dutt defended the film’s release in the plexes. “I appreciate what Shah Rukh Khan and the others are doing and I accept that the multiplexes exploit producers. But I cannot wait anymore because my money is at stake. I have already waited for a year and if we can’t release the film this summer it will be difficult to do so in Diwali. Mine is a very small film and we can’t afford to join a strike, which only big producers can afford. I am exercising my democratic right and I am not doing anything illegal,” he said.

Agreed Arijit Dutta of Priya Entertainment, which is distributing the film. “If we hold back and not release now, we will again fall into the trap of lesser number of shows because of bigger films,” he said.

(With inputs from our Calcutta bureau)