December is going to unleash more star power, we will also get some ‘kid’ power and lots of ‘superpower’. Surprised, confused or excited…. Don’t know what it will be, well that’s exactly what Bollywood has to offer this Christmas and New year- something really different.

First, the king of variety, the king of innovation and the master of perfection, whatever you want to call him- he goes by the name Aamir Khan… He comes up with maybe the most ‘un’commercial product of his career. Taare Zameen Par releases on the 21st of December. If Lagaan saw him as only one among 11 Indians fighting for their rights and Rang De Basanti saw him willingly giving all the thunder away to younger guys. Taare Zameen Par will see him share equal screen space with many tiny tots. Some have called it an Aamir Khan movie, while many others have called it a children’s movie. With Aamir Khan, one thing you can be sure of is that- commercial or not, children’s movie or not, he knows what he is doing and you can trust him to delight you. He is perhaps the most secure and the most confident star of our times. He doesn’t feel the need to hog screen space, to mouth big dialogues and grab the key moments in the movie- he just cares about the end product and the results show, you can check for yourself. The bonus this time is that he has debuted as director and it will certainly be interesting: the biggest contemporary star to venture into direction. We wish him the best.

The other Christmas gift clashes with Taare Zameen Par on the 21st of December. And the clash is going to be intense. Not because it boasts of a star who can pose a challenge to Aamir but because this one is also primarily a children’s movie, aimed at the young minds. It is also the sequel to a hugely successful first part. Hanuman Returns for Christmas. This time a lot more heroics, a lot more fun has been promised.

The interest in this duel lies not in the collections. The eventual winner in terms of gross profits is a foregone conclusion. The subject of interest here is which movie captivates the young minds which they are targeting. Which movie stays on for long with the children as something that they will cherish? In short, will the cute looking Aamir (watch the stills) or the familiarly endearing little Hanuman be more popular with the kids. Let’s wait and watch.

Tomorrow is another big day for Bollywood. The much expected ‘No Smoking’ releases, so does the first movie after the much talked about Kareena-Shahid split, Jab We Met. Hope the pair gets some luck going after their break up. Their pair has had a miserable record till now.