The Diwali period, usually considered the best for film releases, has this year been bountiful only for the Akshay Kumar John Abraham-starrer 'Garam Masala' and proved a "dampener" for the Salman Khan Kareena Kapoor's film 'Kyonki' and the Zayed Khan Fardeen Khan's 'Shaadi No 1'.

Trade sources say that of all the Bollywood releases this Diwali, the 'rip roaring comedy of errors' in Priyadarshan's 'Garam Masala' has emerged a winner at the box office this Diwali. On the other hand, the 'depressing' 'Kyon Ki', they say, has failed to draw crowds to the theatres.

The 'brilliant sense of timing' of Akshay Kumar, coupled with the 'cool dude' act of John Abraham, in Priyadarshan's 'Garam Masala', have ensured an excellent opening for the film across the country, the sources said.

Whether it be in big cities like Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata or the small towns like Raipur (in Chhattisgarh), Gwalior and Bhopal (in Madhya Pradesh) ''the film took an excellent star almost everywhere.'' On the other hand, the opening for Priyadarshan's other directorial venture, 'Kyon Ki' and David Dhawan's comedy 'Shaadi no 1' were good at only a few places while being average in most areas, the trade sources said.

The Diwali period has always been seen in film circles as bountiful for film releases as this marks the beginning of a long festive season for the people.

Last year's Diwali releases, Yash Chopra's 'Veer Zaara' and Abbas Mastan's 'Aitraaz', evoked an excellent response and proved to be profitable ventures for their producers.