The last quarter in Bollywood calendar is also considered the most exciting one, what with a majority of the biggies lined up at the BO during the Diwali to Christmas phase. And this year, the excitement seems to have multiplied by several notches, as industry insiders and trade are predicting a takkar at the BO like never before.

Never mind the doomsday theories predicting the world’s end on December 21, apna B-Town’s all excited about the big ticket releases ahead. In fact with Shah Rukh Khan (Yash Chopra film), Salman Khan (Dabanng 2), Aamir Khan (Talaash), Akshay Kumar (Khiladi 786), Ajay Devgn (Son of Sardar), Saif Ali Khan (Race 2) and John Abraham (Shootout At Wadala and Race 2) all ready to take on each other and with money riding on them being pegged at approximately Rs500 crore this Q4, the stakes are at an all-time high, say insiders.

“There’s no denying that this Q4 is going to be the most exciting one that Bollywood’s ever witnessed. While this quarter always does see the best films roll out, never before have we had almost all top stars in the running at the same time,” says trade analyst Komal Nahta. “Barring two or three actors from the A-league, all will be vying for the numero uno slot at the BO. That they have their own 100 crore collections to beat is only adding to the heat,” adds Nahta.

“The films are rather crucial this year. Even the moolah apart, all are films that are already generating much hype and so the pressure is no doubt going to be tremendous on the stars, more than the filmmakers,” says leading distributor Shyam Shroff.

The biggies apart, there’s also excitement about the other releases lined up, point out industrywallahs. Lootera, Jism 2, Zilla Ghaziabad are all films that are expected to be equally promising, they say. A veteran filmmaker explains that while the game was already interesting with Ajay, SRK, Akshay clashing, Aamir’s entry after Talaash’s release got postponed to a November date is actually what’s made it all the more exciting. “The Yash Chopra-SRK combination is a winner already, while Ajay and Akshay’s action thrillers would also have done well commercially.

But with Aamir in the picture, it may not be as clear a window for them as was earlier expected. The fun will actually begin now,” says the filmmaker. An actor on conditions of anonymity feels that till now there could never be such direct comparisons. “But with our films releasing so close to each other, it’s going to be a izzat ka sawaal. I won’t be surprised if there are sudden date changes announced later. It’s too much a pressure to handle the face- off and not succumb at all,” adds the star.