Yesterday we mentioned about the inflow of biggies that are going to bombard the screens for the month of December. We spoke about the releases till this Friday. Read on to know what happens from mid-December onwards!

On 16th December competition would reach home when Chota B's 'Bluffmaster' releases. Good part is that it is a sole notable release of the week and hence may still give breathing space for 'Ek Ajnabee', 'Neal N Nikki' and 'Kalyug' to continue their stint in their second weeks. Also, it is good from audience's point of view too as they would need to shell out money only for a single new release [that is still affordable]. But things take a bizarre turn in the Christmas weekend when film makers go on a rampage once more to make a tearing hurry to have their flicks released before the year ends. 23rd December would again be a Friday when three new movies would grace the silver screen - Family - Ties Of Blood, Dosti - Friends Forever and Vaah! Life Ho To Aisi [that opens a day earlier]!

While things would have been just settling down after a single release [Bluffmaster] week, as many as three flicks coming with stars like Amitabh Bachchan, Sanjay Dutt, Akshay Kumar, Bobby Deol, Shahid Kapoor, Kareena Kapoor, Lara Dutta and Amrita Rao is nothing but suicidal. To make matters worse, there are two Akshay movies releasing on the same day - Family - Ties Of Blood and Dosti - Friends Forever! Perhaps the lessons haven't been learnt from the fate of 'Deewane Huye Paagal' that came with a few weeks after 'Garam Masala'. And it's not just Akshay Kumar as even Big B sees his 'Ek Ajnabee' and 'Family', both having him as the central protagonist, coming in a matter of a fortnight. Remember what happened to 'Aetbaar' when it released alongside 'Khakee'?

Indeed there is too much of stake in the same week for bigwigs like Raj Kumar Santoshi and Suneel Darshan who have their big budget flicks lined up. And lesser said for Mahesh Manjrekar's VLHTA, the better, as it may just crushed in competition with the other two biggies, inspite of dynamic Dutt looming tall in the fantasy caper! Meanwhile what happens to N3, Ek Ajnabee, Bluffmaster and to an extent Kalyug? Hard to predict the final outcome when as many as 7 flicks would be fighting for space in a single week!

So do things settle down at this stage? Is there any respite? Naah! As there is yet another biggie out there to strike a final blow before New Year dawns. John Mathew Matthan's 'Shikhar', that seems to have finally settled down for 30th December release would be coming next. One thing that can be surely said about the movie is that it is really in search of a change in its promotion strategy. The way it is being publicized presently, it would hardly be surprising if this Ajay Devgan-Shahid Kapoor-Bipasha Basu-Amrita Rao starrer fails to even take off! One of the worst promotional campaigns ever for a big budget movie, it is surprising to see how Mathan could have given a green signal for such a weird set of promos! Now with the stars of the movie too coming out in open about the movie's misleading publicity, the makers should take a cue from there and quickly rework on the strategy. The good part is that there are still 3 full weeks to go about it and fortunes could change in that time period. But the million dollar question that arises again - would a viewer be willing to shell out money week after week all the way till December end? And would New Year plans hamper the [all important] weekend sales?

And to think of it, all this while we have only mentioned about movies that are big budgeted and have a confirmed release date. So where do movies like Haseena -Smart, Sexy, Dangerous, Mr 100% - The Real Player, Anjaan, Anjaane - The Unknown, Chingari, Gahraee, Husn - Love And Betrayal and Mr. Prime Minister go? No one knows and probably no one intends to know. Most of them have been delayed so very endlessly all this while that there is hardly any market available for them. Even if some of them eventually manage to hit the marquee, it doesn't require a genius to predict their fate amongst the other 8-10 biggies that are anyways on a collision path!

Don't even think that this is all what the viewers are going to get as in near future, January looks as exciting, if not more than December with numerous biggies waiting for their turn to come. This means a limited period for December flicks to make their mark. But more of January releases later. Till then, take your pick, choose your movie and go for at least one of your favorite movies that is standing out amongst the crowd for you.

Remember this - December is going to be an eventful, probably fortune changing, month for Bollywood. And if the unthinkable happens with majority of them setting the cash registers ringing, then it would surely mark 2005 as one of the most successful years for Hindi movies in the recent times!