by Subhash K Jha

Has Diwali lost its sheen at the boxoffice? Or has the boxoffice lost its luster during the festive season because of the quality of the films?

Just think...Of the 3 films released with much fanfare, none generated the heat it was expected to.... Not that there was any dearth of marquee names..

David Dhawan (with two big hits Mujhse Shaadi Karogi and Maine Pyar Kyun Kiya and a track record of comic triumphs behind him) with Shaadi No 1, Priyadarshan (with a sure -success ratio in the comic style) returning with the garma-garam raunchy pair Akshay Kumar-John Abraham for a skirt–chaser of comedy in Garam Masala...and Priyadarshan(again!) bringing the hot-and-saleable Salman Khan and Kareena Kapoor together for the first time in Kyun Ki...

What happened????

The analysts are scratching their heads in disbelief. While Kyun Ki with the supposedly invincible-at-the-boxoffice Salman didn't get a decent opening, David's latest Shaadi shindig got a mixed opening which got progressively unfavourable as the days progressed.

Garam Masala with its sure-shot formula of glam-girls-giggles got the best opening. But even this one seems to be destined for a mere also-ran's status.

In comparison to this year's dismal Diwali performance last year's four films for the festive phase fared far better. Two of last year's Diwali releases—Yash Chopra's Veer-Zara and the colorized revival of K Asif's Mughal-e-Azam were huge successes. Abbas-Mustan's Aitraaz did well too. Only Ram Gopal Varma's Naach bombed. And that was because it wasn't a festive film.

What went wrong this year?

"Very simple," says filmmaker Hansal Mehta who has a release Anjaan coming up next week.

"The audience just didn't like the Diwali films. Diwali can only enchance ticket sales, not generate them. I'm sure Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and Hum Aapke Hain Koun would've made history even if they were released in a non-Diwali period. And the films during this Diwali would've made the same impact even if they were released in another time. It's all about what people want to see, not when they want to see it."