It's an incredible boxoffice battle. In one release this week we'll see and hear Shah Rukh Khan. In the other, we'll only hear him talk.

This Friday is a big day for Shah Rukh fans. Not only does he feature in Ashutosh Gowariker's eagerly awaited "Swades", but with son Aryan he also lends his voice in a Hindi version of the animation film "The Incredibles".

So far, big American animation films like "Shrek" and "Shark's Tale" have only had middling success in India. But with Shah Rukh's voice to draw audiences, "The Incredibles" could well mark a turning point for the genre in India.

"Swades" is a crucial release, a true crossover film for both the actor and the director. While Shah Rukh plays an average guy from a rural middleclass family for the first time, Gowariker needs to prove his "Lagaan" success was no flash in the pan.

Going by the easy atmosphere and the casual grace of the film's publicity, "Swades" is Shah Rukh's most understated film in recent times.

Though there's a lot at stake for the director, he's playing it surprisingly cool. The heat is being felt only by the distributors who wonder how audiences would react to a "different" Shah Rukh, that too when he isn't paired with a hot-and-happening heroine.

All through his career as a superstar, Shah Rukh has shared screen space with established leading ladies, from Kajol and Juhi Chawla to Aishwarya Rai and Preity Zinta. But in "Swades", he is paired opposite debutante Gayatri Joshi.

No one would get a chance to talk about the pair's "chemistry". "Swades" focuses on the romance of life rather than the cute courtship games seen in Shah Rukh starrers like "Chalte Chalte" and "Main Hoon Na".

Would the audience be interested in a film where love isn't a fluffy celebration but a part of the life cycle?

In "Lagaan", Gowariker had cast a fresh face opposite another Khan (Aamir). The film created history.

And the only recent time when Shah Rukh was cast opposite a new girl was in Subhash Ghai's "Pardes" (Abroad). The title means just the opposite of "Swades" (My Country).

For SRK fans, the excitement of watching the star and his son play it together in "The Incredibles" is its USP.

But the film also tells a story that is Indian in spirit. This can lead to an interesting clash between the Indianised foreign movie and "Swades".