'Jab tak Hai Jaan' vs 'Son of Sardaar': Diwali doesn't ensure success

New Delhi: Diwali hasn't been all that crackling for Bollywood. Of more than 30 films released in the past decade during the festival, less than a dozen elicited fireworks at the box office. But this year seems promising with 'Jab Tak Hai Jaan' (JTHJ) and 'Son Of Sardaar' (SOS) lined up to hit the screens Nov 13, Diwali day itself.

Both are biggies. JTHJ is Yash Chopra's last directorial venture, starring Shah Rukh Khan, Katrina Kaif and Anushka Sharma, while SOS is a comic caper with Ajay Devgn, Sanjay Dutt and Sonakshi Sinha in key roles. Chopra's sudden death Oct 21, before he could can the last song for the film in the Swiss Alps, has generated more interest in JTHJ, expected to be the last reflection of his kind of romantic, sensitive and picture perfect cinema.

The film is expected to set the cash registers ringing -- given the past record of Shah Rukh's Diwali releases, including 'Baazigar' (1993), 'Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge' (1995), 'Dil To Pagal Hai' (1997), 'Kuch Kuch Hota Hai' (1998), 'Veer-Zaara' (2004), 'Don: The Chase Begins Again' (2006) and 'Om Shanti Om' (2007).

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  Shah Rukh and Katrina's chemistry in the promos and songs have become the talk of the town.

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  Shah Rukh is back on the silver screen in his romantic avatar after a long time.

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  This is for the first time that Shah Rukh and Katrina have come together for a movie.

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  This new pairing in Bollywood has come as a breath of fresh air.

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  The film shows Shah Rukh in the role of an army officer who falls in love with beautiful Katrina in the first half of the film.

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  Shah Rukh and Katrina have upped the hotness quotient with their sexy moves in the new song from the film.

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  Shah Rukh, who has romanced many actresses on screen, is all set to woo Katrina in 'Jab Tak Hai Jaan'.

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  'Jab Tak Hai Jaan' is late Yash Chopra's last directorial venture. The director died of dengue on October 21.

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  The 'Chikni Chameli' of Bollywood is seen matching steps with Shah Rukh in 'Ishq Shava'.

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  The film has some great music composed by AR Rahman. After serenading the fans with songs like 'Challa' and 'Jiya Re', the makers are out with Shah Rukh-Katrina's new sizzling number.

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  Late Yash Chopra, who was known to make his heroines look beautiful on screen, has yet again cast his magic on Katrina in 'Jab Tak Hai Jaan'.

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  Away from being a soft romantic track, the new song is quite peppy and shows a great chemistry between the two stars.

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  The film is slated to be released on November 13.

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Out of 30 films released in the past decade during Diwali, less than a dozen elicited fireworks at the box office.

But those appeared to be the exceptions. Shah Rukh's 'Mohabbatein' (2000) and mega-budget 'RA.One' (2011), released around the festival, didn't quite ruffle up the ticket counters beyond the opening weekend.

All in all, Diwali hasn't brought much 'Lakshmi' to Hindi films, even if the festive season is considered to be a good time to release films, given the holiday mood. Some films indeed went on to be winners but most tanked at the box office.

Of the three films - 'RA.One', 'Tell Me O Kkhuda' and 'Damadamm!' - released around Diwali last year, the latter two were hardly visible due to the extensive promotion of Shah Rukh's Rs 150 crore budget entertainer. If the first two bombed, even 'RA.One' failed to generate the expected response.

In 2010, it was a clash of comedies - the multi-starrer 'Golmaal 3' and Akshay Kumar-Aishwarya Rai's 'Action Replayy'. 'Golmaal 3' took the lion's share, but the latter was a damp squib.

A year before that came three films - comedy 'All The Best', underwater action drama 'Blue' and Salman Khan-starrer 'Main Aur Mrs. Khanna'. Only 'All The Best' managed a profit, the other two were doomed despite the hoopla.

Cut to 2008. Four movies - 'Fashion', 'Golmaal Returns', 'Roadside Romeo' and 'Heroes' - were in competition during the festival of lights. The success ratio was 50-50 at the box office with 'Roadside Romeo' and 'Heroes' turning turtle at the ticket window.

Two biggies clashed at the box office in 2007. Sanjay Leela Bhansali's 'Saawariya', the much-awaited launch pad for two Kapoors - Ranbir and Sonam - released along with Farah Khan's 'Om Shanti Om', which had the ever charming Shah Rukh with debutante Deepika Padukone. 'Saawariya' sank without a trace. 'Om Shanti Om', a typical Bollywood potboiler complete with the jazz, colour, dance and music, was a mega hit.

Ditto in 2006 when Shah Rukh-starrer 'Don: The Chase Begins Again', a modern-day remake of Amitabh Bachchan's 1978 film 'Don', released alongside Shirish Kunder's directorial debut 'Jaan-E-Mann'. Despite the presence of Akshay Kumar, Salman Khan and Preity Zinta, Kunder's ambitious project fell flat at the box office.

There were three Diwali releases in 2005 - 'Garam Masala', 'Kyon Ki...' and 'Shaadi No. 1'. Unfortunately, the last two got a cold shoulder from the movie buffs, making it a dull Diwali for investors and distributors.

Although SRK-starrer cross-border romance 'Veer-Zaara' got thumbs up from critics when it released in 2004, the footfalls were not overwhelming and Ram Gopal Varma's 'Naach' sank without a trace. 'Aitraaz', a thriller from Abbas-Mustan's stable, which also came out at that time, was however a winner.

Box-office business was dull in the three years before that, thanks to films like 'Pinjar', 'Sssshhh' and 'Raja Bhaiya' in 2003; 'Jeena Sirf Merre Liye', 'Waah Tera Kya Kehna' and 'Annarth' in 2002; and 'Tera Mera Saath Rahen', 'Deewanapan' and 'Yeh Zindagi Ka Safar' in 2001.

Only 'Pinjar' got critical acclaim. The rest came and went.

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