For over two months, backchannel talks were all about requesting the other to step back.

During a recent trip to Sri Lanka, I’d just seen what is believed to be Lord Hanuman’s footprint in a Sita Ma temple. Coincidentally, Rohit Shetty’s Singham Again has a scene from the same temple spotlighting the footprint. It also has Tiger Shroff standing like Lakshman beside Ram, Ranveer Singh bowing the same way as Hanuman and Akshay Kumar arriving like Garuda in a helicopter. Insisting it wasn’t a question of ego, Rohit pointed out that the many references to the Ramayana made it imperative that it be released only on Diwali.

For argument’s sake, if Singham was about Ram and co-slaying Ravan, then Dussehra would’ve been an equally appropriate time. But Diwali is the more lucrative period for a big-ticket film.

Every Diwali, a clash of the biggies at the box office is as common as card parties and firecrackers. So why such a fuss over Singham Again and Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 releasing on the same day?

Trace it to the sluggish box office. Films have had to huff and puff to reach recovery point, making everybody wary of having to share the spoils of an auspicious weekend.

The battle cry was sounded on the day of the trailer launch of Singham Again. “Mulgi zaali re (We’ve got a daughter),” Ranveer pumped the air, maintaining the Marathi spirit of Singham. On maternity leave was Deepika, who plays Shakti Shetty alias Lady Singham. True to nature, Tiger went home immediately after the launch while Ranveer ebulliently went into the crowd, shook hands and took selfies. Fellow YRF discovery and “Ravan” Arjun Kapoor cautiously followed suit.

At a cosy lunch backstage, Ranveer said they hadn’t named their daughter so far. “But we must do it soon to make her passport,” he mused. Deepika-Ranveer plan to travel with her in December and ring in the New Year.

With classic maroon velvet upholstery and pricey boxes for privacy, the swank NMACC (Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre) was the right choice for unveiling Singham’s starry trailer.

In the face of such a well-cut trailer, was Bhushan Kumar bringing pride into the fray by releasing his film too on Diwali? Would Kartik Aaryan, the solo hero of BB3, be able to hold his ground before an array of Ajay-Akshay-Ranveer-Tiger-Kareena-Deepika? It was whispered that Reliance (which is backing Singham) had offered BB3 alternate dates in December, willing to pull back their films Chhaava (the Vicky Kaushal film on Sambhaji Maharaj, scheduled to clash with Pushpa 2) and Baby John (the hardcore south-style Varun Dhawan film made by Atlee’s assistant). Also, since Ajay Devgn was doing two other films with T-Series, Team Singham did think Bhushan would acquiesce and put off BB3.

Instead, within 24 hours, Bhushan signed on Kartik’s PR agency, and engaged his own people too, to fly the media to Jaipur to launch the trailer of BB3. Jaipur is where all three editions of the BB franchise have been shot.

Trailers don’t reflect the final verdict but the Cop Universe and the horror-comedy world retain the flavour of their respective franchises while bringing in fresh elements. If Singham is star-studded, BB3 has Vidya Balan, Madhuri Dixit and Kartik gung-ho about their film.

When Vidya was told about her dance face-off with Madhuri, she frankly said, “I’m no dancer. I need rehearsals.” In between her promotions for Do Aur Do Pyaar, Vidya practised rigorously — she’s doing Bharat Natyam while Madhuri has Kathak-style movements. In the original BB (2007), Vidya had rehearsed with such sincerity that she’d pulled off “Ami je tomar” like a confident danseuse. Will Vidya-Madhuri succeed like Madhuri-Ash did in “Dola re dola”?

Whatever the outcome, it is going to rain stars this Diwali.