The ill-fated trend of second-guessing the audience crept into YRF films and from that moment on - despite the superb aberration of Lamhe, a film that remains decidedly ahead of its time - their '80s successes like Vijay, Mashaal and Chandni were a lot more commercially-crafted than Chopra's earlier work. Yet Chopra, as canny about audiences as Steven Spielberg, kept the ball rolling gloriously well. The '90s began with the Lamhe hiccup, yes, but Chopra followed that up with Darr, and turned Shah Rukh Khan into a stuttering superstar.

In 1995, Aditya Chopra made his directorial debut and instantly hit the nail on the head. Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge (DDLJ) redefined the rom-com and remains the best mainstream Hindi film of the '90s. YRF was in flux as son Aditya was taking over from dad Yash, but the change was smooth as silk and the hits continued to flow. The post-DDLJ years, however, weren't the best in terms of content. Yash Chopra's Dil Toh Pagal Hai worked, but Adi's Mohabbatein was a dismal failure, prompting the director to take up the role of a creative producer.

Over the last 10 years, success has come in fits and starts for Yash Raj Films and it is hard to find among the manipulatedly emotional or the overdone buffoonery or the cliche-pandering, one really good film among the lot. Mere Yaar Ki Shaadi Hai, Mujhse Dosti Karoge and Neal n' Nikki are obviously not worth talking about, but even the successes - Hum Tum, Veer Zaara, Dhoom, Bunty Aur Babli, Fanaa - are not memorable films at all. Still, if cinema is business and the coffers are brimming at the top, all is well. Except, it isn't.

Last year was an utter disaster for YRF. 2006 ended on a bum note with Kabul Express failing to find any takers, and much was expected from the production house's major releases in 2007. Ta Ra Rum Pum starred the then-infallible pair of Saif Ali Khan and Rani Mukherjee, but stumbled utterly and woefully. Jhoom Barabar Jhoom had a superhit soundtrack, but the film was awful beyond description. Laaga Chunari Mein Daag was hyped as the drama of the year, but audiences shrugged off the regression entirely. Aaja Nachle brought back the most successful heroine in our cinematic history, but even that wasn't enough to click.

What did work was the one film they refused to promote. Nobody watches sports films, dictate the Bollywood pundits, and so, the promos of Chak De! India were pulled out of theatres, an almost unheard-of occurrence for a film starring a megastar. Yet with four films flopping like dead flies, the hockey film clicked - and how! Chak De! India single handedly saved the YRF face last year.

This year, however, things seem back to scratch. These are times when Akshay Kumar's name on the marquee guarantees a jackpot come opening day, but even he - starring alongside Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor in a bikini - bit the dust with Tashan, a massively hyped commercial disaster. It was a subversive nod at our own brand of exploitation cinema, but the injoke didn't work and the crowds didn't give a damn.

The roster this year doesn't look particularly exciting either. There's Kunal Kohli's Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic, which looks like a Mary Poppins rehash till the director goes on record to say it's more like Mr India than Mary Poppins. There's Bachna Ae Haseeno, starring Ranbir Kapoor with a bevy of pretty women but - as Sanjay Leela Bhansali would testify - a film featuring Ranbir alongside a stunner doesn't guarantee anything. Then, there's Roadside Romeo, YRF's first animated flick, interesting because it's a Disney co-production - so does that mean they can't rip-off Lady And The Tramp?

And finally, there's Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, featuring Shah Rukh Khan and a pretty starlet - a major release because Aditya Chopra is at the helm. Again, the vibes seem cooler than they would normally have been because his last film was a bomb and, more importantly, because Rab Ne takes on Aamir Khan's Ghajini head-to-head, with both films releasing on December 12. If Rab Ne is a smash hit, it will be so against the odds.

Today, it's quite customary to kick Yash Raj Films, simply because they are, truly and utterly, down. Supporters of indie cinema decry their wasteful scriptlessness, and rival production houses have been crying foul about YRF's monopolistic tactics.

Yet the fact remains that they are still big and powerful. They are still the brand that most people in the industry would give their left arm to work for, even the creative types, because of the sheer infrastructure they provide, and because the stars forego fat paychecks because of the visibility a YRF release promises.

Right now, the exciting thing about Bollywood is that it's good to see YRF falter - sadism aside - just to see them have to go out on a limb, because of box-office unpredictability, and head into fascinating cinematic back-alleys.

They aren't there yet, but at least they're trying shots in the dark. Potentially lethal, but always fun.

– Courtesy: Tehelka Magazine