After Diwali, Xmas war in B'wood

If you thought the war at the box office was over with Om Shanti Om and Saawariya, think again. After Diwali, producers and distributors are now eyeing the Christmas weekend to rake in the green stuff. This year three big films are being released on December 21 – Taare Zameen Par, Halla Bol and Welcome. And all three, which star some of the biggest names in the film industry, have a lot riding on it.

According to journalist and film critic Abhijit Mhamunkar, "This year, filmmakers have discovered a new festive season to release their biggies. With Christmas falling on Tuesday, they get a longer weekend of 5 days to rake in the moolah by releasing their films on December 21."

Trade pundit Komal Nahata also seconds this opinion. "Christmas this year will be the second big celebration time. It is as if distributors have realised that there is another time besides the big Diwali weekend to release their films profitably," he says.

According to J Popat too this will set the trend for coming years when filmmakers wouldn't mind postponing their films and releasing them around Christmas if they cannot do so during Diwali.

However, even as industry insiders are hailing this 'second season' so to say, none is happy about the fact of three films releasing during the time.

Says Mhamunkar, "Unlike Om Shanti Om and Saawariya, these three will eat into each others' business. And that is not a good sign."

Nahata further suggests that ideally one of the films should be postponed because that's the most sensible thing to do. J Popat however has already passed his verdict on the impending war. "Welcome is a runaway winner," he insists adding, "Taare Zameen Par does not look like a commercial film. Besides, it is said that Aamir comes just before the interval. Halla Bol too is on a shaky wicket because Ajay Devgan does not have a good standing in the market with at least a couple of flops behind him. Welcome looks like a good comedy and has a lot of stars in it."

Mhamunkar is also of the opinion that while Welcome currently stands on firmer grounds. He says, "Welcome has everything going in its favour with comedy being the flavour of 2007. Besides, any Akshay Kumar release guarantees a great opening these days."

While Taare... still has the Aamir Khan tag behind it and may just manage to pull the whole thing off, Halla Bol has a lot of odds against it. It is said that Ajay Devgan's marketability has gone down especially with RGV Ki Aag. Further, as Popat suggests, "He does not even have an overseas market, which makes it worse."

While not many may be keen on showing off all their cards at this point, it seems quite clear that Halla Bol has the maximum to lose. With its very serious topic, and a star whose reputation has taken a beating, it might be slightly risky for it to enter into the fray. And the postponement, as Mhamunkar suggests, would 'at least would have only an animated film (Hanuman Returns) to compete with. After all it's far easier to fight the gods than fight the stars, even if it is at the box office.

Abhishek Mande | Buzz18