by Subhash K Jha

Are Yashraj Films the most powerful banner in Bollywood? We shall soon know .

December 9 is going to be quite a battle at the boxoffice. On that fateful day the scion of the Yash Chopra clan Uday Chopra will actually dare to take on the mighty Bachchan at the boxoffice.

That's the date when Arjun Sablok's zany zippy and zingy Neal N Nikki will rub shoulders with the new Bachchan actioner, Apoorva Lakhia's Ek Ajnabee.

The date has been locked-in confidently and irreversibly by the respective producers.

Says the Ek Ajnabee director Apoorva Lakhia, "At first we were a little apprehensive about getting the right chain of theatres worldwide when we heard that Neal N Nikki was also being released on the same day. But then my producer Bunty Wallia has worked things out. And we have a good chain of theatres booked worldwide for December 9. So we're definitely on."

Apoorva admits it's tough coming to the theatres with a Yashraj film. "Their marketing is exceptional. But we have Mr Bachchan in our film. Need I say anything else?"

Neal N Nikki director Arjun Sablok is more cautious in his exuberance.

"We're certainly coming on December 9, no doubt about. But there's no threat to any film. My film is entirely different in mood content and intent from Ek Ajnabee or any other film scheduled for in and around December 9. Neal & Nikki is a frothy, feelgood romance. Ek Ajnabee looks like an actioner. I'm looking forward to seeing it."

Diplomatic stand notwithstanding, both films are more critical for their directors than their producers.

Both Apoorva Lakhia and Arjun Sablok are one-flop old. Apoorva's Mumbai Se Aaya Mera Dost sank without a trace in spite of the support of marqee names Abhishek Bachchan and Lara Dutta (both of whom, incidentally are making guest appearances in Ek Ajnabee).

Likewise, Arjun Sablok in spite of a neat well-constructed narrative and excellent star value –Hrithik Roshan, Esha Deol, Saif Ali Khan—couldn't salvage his reputation as a filmmaker in Na Tum Jano Na Hum.

Both need a hit badly to keep their heads above the water. Ek Ajnabee is as much a do-or-die effort for Lakhia as Neal N Nikki is for Sablok.

"And I believe there's room for both, and more. The boxoffice has a large heart. It can accommodate more than we imagine, as long as we provide value for money," shoots Sablok.