Shah Rukh Khan’s ‘Ra.One’ was the most awaited mega-movie of 2011. Not only because it had King Khan as a sci-fi hero, but because it was another chapter in the clash-of-the-titans saga in Bollywood. Can the King beat Sallubhai? As far as the opening collections go, ‘Bodyguard’ still rules the roost. However, King Khan’s humanoid avatar has put up a marvellous show. As Eros International, the distributor for ‘Ra.One’ has said, Diwali sales have amounted to Rs62.50 crore.

“‘Ra.One’ grossed Rs26.50 crore with a net of Rs18.50 crore on 26th October (Wednesday), making it the highest-ever Diwali day collection in the history of Indian cinema. The second day collections on 27th October were even more impressive with the film raking in Rs36 crore gross with a net of Rs25.10 crore, making it the highest collection ever on a single day for an Indian film,” Eros said. ‘Ra.One’ opened across more than 4,000 plus screens worldwide (3,100 plus screens in India and 904 prints internationally, including 3D, Tamil and Telugu).

That is definitely something to look out for, and ‘Ra.One’ needs to deliver. Not only because it has to recover its massive Rs150 crore budget; but King Khan has to prove a point to his archrival. Salman Khan had delivered three successive super-hits with ‘Dabangg’, ‘Ready’ and ‘Bodyguard’. The last one had broken all box-office records, and on the first day of its release on Eid, it amassed a huge Rs21.50 crore which is still the largest first-day haul. ‘Bodyguard’ opened across 2,250 screens in 70 Indian cities and with 482 prints across overseas territories. Along with ‘Singham’, it revived Reliance Entertainment’s fortunes, which had taken a beating with duds like ‘Kites’, ‘Raavan’ and ‘Haunted’.

‘Bodyguard’ surpassed Sallubhai’s own ‘Dabangg’ with its Rs213 crore collection; which had, in turn, beat Aamir Khan’s mega-cult hit ‘3 Idiots’. With Salman on a roll, and Aamir maintaining a mysterious silence over his next mega-project while churning out another cult-hit and a critical success, ‘Delhi Belly’—King Khan had to come back with a bang.

The hype had started about a year ago, and the actor-producer had devoted himself fully to his dream project after the success (ahem) of ‘My Name is Khan’. Shah Rukh has reigned over foreign screens; having a massive fan base among NRIs and diehard fans of Indian melodramatic family sagas and romances. The domestic scene, especially the single screens, however, belongs to Salman. ‘Dabangg’ was not only a huge hit, it was a wake-up call for filmmakers who had underestimated the power of single-screens. No wonder, following ‘Dabangg’, we are seeing a return of the unapologetic over-the-top masala entertainers. ‘Ra.One’ opened to savage reviews, but nevertheless, fans flocked to root for the baadshah of Bollywood. And when had critical opinion mattered when it came to the King and Sallubhai? This battle is going to be epic.