With multi-starrer "Bewafaa" plummeting and "Lucky" featuring Salman Khan garnering a less than anticipated opening response, are Bollywood biggies facing big-time trouble?

A number of mega-starrers are lined up for release in the coming months. Could any one of them make a difference to the present box-office trend and open the future to multi-million projects?

The film fraternity is optimistic.

The next big film to be released is Vipul Shah's family drama "Waqt: The Race Against Time" on April 22 starring the mighty Amitabh Bachchan, the ever-dependable Akshay Kumar and the hot-and-happening Priyanka Chopra.

But according to Shah, the story is the real star of the film.

The very next week has the Karan Johar's slick and spooky thriller "Kaal" hitting the marquee with an impressive line up that includes Vivek Oberoi, John Abraham, Ajay Devgan, Lara Dutta and Esha Deol.

A guest appearance by Shah Rukh Khan ensures a massive opening for the film, but as Karan Johar stresses: "The stars can't help if you don't have a story to tell. I believe 'Kaal' scores strongly in that department."

If "Waqt..." and "Kaal" manage to pull the trick, the other super-biggies awaiting their turn include Suneel Darshan's love triangle "Mere Jeevan Saathi", Boney Kapoor's "No Entry", Yashraj Films' "Bunty Aur Babli" and Khalid Mohamed's "Silsilay" - all in May.

The stars to feature range from Amitabh Bachchan, Salman Khan, Anil Kapoor, Tabu, Abhishek Bachchan, Lara Dutta and Rahul Bose.

But will they succeed in luring audiences, who seem to be looking for a different kind of experience in terms of content and treatment?

Evidence to this is Madhur Bhandarkar's "Page 3" that broke many myths regarding star dominance.

But Bhandarkar has his thumbs up for the industry.

"The stars are a definite plus. Just because 'Page 3' worked without stars, let's not jump to the conclusion that starless films work," he maintained.

"We've so many gifted stars. And why should they not be considered a major attraction?"