A still from Tashan

The ishtyle has disappeared, the ‘goodluck’ has failed and the pharmoola has backfired.

A single film has made a movie giant go weak in its knees. Thanks to its new release Tashan, Yash Raj Films (YRF) has agreed to let go of all its forthcoming movies of 2008 according to the prevailing formula for revenue sharing with multiplexes.

Flashback to April 25, YRF was not ready to release its first biggie of the year, Tashan, at the plexes according to the going rate. The Calcutta market posed one of the biggest problems with Yash Raj demanding 60 per cent from Week I and 55 per cent from Week II from the city properties.

One week later, after the Akshay Kumar-Anil Kapoor-Saif Ali Khan-Kareena Kapoor-starrer had struggled at the standalone theatres, YRF agreed to play Tashan at the accepted rates — 50 per cent for the first week and 45 per cent for the second.

The official YRF statement read: “The terms agreed upon are to the mutual satisfaction of all concerned parties.”

In reality it was a big step back for the Chopras, relenting under the pressure of Tashan’s pathetic first week. An inside source said: “Yash Chopra got involved himself and started fresh talks with all the national multiplex chains.”

“We are happy that the terms are resolved,” Shravan Shroff of Shringar Cinemas, which runs the Fame plexes in town, told Metro. “Now, Yash Raj can go back to making movies that work and we can go back to making theatres that work.”

The prize for the plex players is the assurance of getting prints of the other four Yash Raj releases this year right from the first-day-first-show. Kunal Kohli’s Thoda Pyar Thoda Magic (June 27) starring Saif Ali Khan and Rani Mukerji, Siddharth Anand’s Bachna Ae Haseeno (August 15) starring Ranbir Kapoor, Bipasha Basu, Deepika Padukone and Minissha Lamba, and the Walt Disney co-produced animation film Roadside Romeo (October 24) will play under the Tashan terms.

Only for Aditya Chopra’s Shah Rukh Khan-starrer Rab De Bana Di Jodi (December 12), YRF will get 35 per cent revenue in Week III as opposed to 30 per cent for the other films.

“It’s a relief that we don’t have to go through the entire process of negotiations before every Yash Raj release,” said Vikas Syal, general manager of INOX (Forum). “Also, the biggest and the best films deserve to play at the popular screens.”

Tashan’s bad run continues even at the plexes. Despite being slotted just four shows at INOX (Forum) and six shows at Fame (South City) from last Saturday, people have hardly turned up.