Three films are being released Wednesday to add to the Diwali spirit - one by David Dhawan and two by Priyadarshan.

Vashu Bhagnani, who teams up with David Dhawan after a long break, is all set to unleash the comedy "Shaadi No.1" while Priyadarshan's "Garam Masala" and "Kyun Ki" will vie for the audience's attention.

They may not be in the same league as K. Asif, whose "Mughal-e-Azam" visited theatres last Diwali. But both filmmakers have a proven track record of hits.

"Shaadi No.1" has Sanjay Dutt ("the only actor besides Amitabh Bachchan that I really wanted to work with all my life," says Bhagnani), cousins Fardeen and Zayed Khan, besides Sharman Joshi, who was last seen in N. Chandra's sex comedy "Style" and its sequel "Excuse Me".

Sharman, on the lookout for commercial success, has just been blessed with a baby.

He rightly thinks David Dhawan came to give his career that head start which N. Chandra's comic concepts in "Excuse Me" couldn't.

Interestingly, producer Bhagnani and director David Dhawan had a fall-out after their last collaborative comedy "Biwi No.1" in 1999.

More interesting, Bhagnani had defiantly ignored all warning to release his prestigious parody at an ostensibly inopportune time when audiences were supposedly stationed at home watching the World Cup Series.

When the film clicked, Bhagnani triumphantly declared he had no patience with absurd insecurities that prevailed regarding the release of films.

So now why the return to superstition?

Explains Bhagnani: "It isn't just superstition. Diwali is a time when people like to spend money, have a good time. And that's what my film will hopefully provide. It's a fun film with four heroes and several young girls."

Pooja Bhatt, who raced ahead in Goa with her second directorial venture "Holiday" with Dino Morea and newcomer Onjolee Nair in the lead, also releases her film in Diwali.

Says a smiling Dino: "Our film is the odd one out... Not just because it's the only film by a female director this Diwali but also because we've done something entirely different."

But do Diwali releases actually work as effectively as they seem to?

"I should think so," volunteers Bhagnani. "I remember I had released David's 'Chote Miyan Bade Miyan' along with Karan Johar's 'Kuch Kuch Hota Hai' on Diwali. Both the films were major hits. So I'd like to believe that Diwali does have a bearing on the box office."

But the most interesting postponed positioning this Diwali is that of Suneel Darshan's "Dosti: Friends Forever". Instead of Friday Nov 4, Suneel intended to release his film on Nov 1 (Diwali). But he has now opted out, what with Akshay Kumar already featuring in Priyadarshan's spicy "Garam Masala".

Says Darshan: "It's unfortunate I couldn't release 'Dosti' for Diwali. It wasn't really a marketing strategy to be one up on the other Diwali releases. It's just my faith.

"I wanted to synchronize the release of my film with Lakshmi puja (Diwali ritual). Whether it's a box office hit or not, filmmakers are happy to release films at a time when the world is filled with positive feelings."

Does this really pay at the box office?

Last year during Diwali there were four releases. Of them, K. Asif's "Mughal-e-Azam" and Yash Chopra's "Veer-Zaara" were big successes. Abbas-Mustan's "Aitraaz" did well enough. But Ram Gopal Varma's "Naach" fared poorly.

So here it is again. Does Diwali work at the box office?

It would be interesting to see which of Priyadarshan's two releases this Diwali the audiences take to with festive warmth.

The only other occasion when a director pitched two of his own films against one another was when David Dhawan unleashed two comedies in 1997 - "Mr & Mrs Khiladi" and "Deewana Mastana".

Reasons Kareena Kapoor: "Yeah, but my film 'Kyun Ki' is very different in mood from Priyan's 'Garam Masala'. There's no clash of interests here. So what if the directors are the same? I'd say 'Garam Masala' is more competition for 'Shaadi No.1' than 'Kyun Ki'."

Get set for a Dhawan-Priyan battle at the box office this Diwali.