Kareena Kapoor rules festival box office

Aamir Khan and Akshay Kumar may have set their eyes on Christmas with Taare Zameen Par/Welcome [2007], Ghajini/Jumbo [2008], 3 Idiots [2009] and Tees Maar Khan [2010]. Salman Khan may have captured his Eid slot with Wanted [2009], Dabangg [2010] and Bodyguard [2011]. But Kareena isn't content with just one festival. She wants them all and is pretty much having her way as well.

Says a veteran trade observer, "After all, Diwali and Christmas have turned out to be most beneficial for filmmakers due to long holiday period as well as general mood of celebrations and festivities. People don't mind spending money and if a film is indeed made well, the makers and the actors benefit the most. It is crystal clear that while all the men are fighting it out amongst themselves when it comes to festive releases, Kareena is enjoying the best of all seasons. Well, literally."

There are facts to substantiate this claim. This year her Golmaal 3 released on Diwali. Last year her 3 Idiots had arrived on Christmas while Main Aurr Mrs Khanna had released on Diwali. In 2008, her Golmaal Returns had made a splash on Diwali while Jab We Met in 2007 too had released just a few days before Diwali. Even earlier, her films like Don - The Chase Begins Again [Diwali 2006], Dosti - Friends Forever [Christmas 2005] and Aitraaz [Diwali 2004] had benefited by arriving in the festive season.

"Somehow this fact never got highlighted as all the rivalry seemed to be hero-centric. However, Kareena has been quietly enjoying her stint when it comes to the release of her biggies. Now the going only seems to be perfect for her in near future as well with her newer films eyeing the best available slots", continues the observer.

As things stand today, Kareena can well enjoy quite a few celebrations coming her way in the festival season ahead. Come 2011 and she would be occupying both Eid [Bodyguard] as well as the Diwali [Ra.One] slots. Though Christmas season currently has only one confirmed release - the sequel to Shahrukh Khan's Don, it would be interesting to see if Kareena brings one of her movies along then.

"Well, one can never be too sure about such things", smiles Kareena who is obviously elated with this 'feat', "Yes, Golmaal 3 was always planned for a Diwali release and it's blockbuster success has made us all feel good about the effort that we all had to put to ensure that the deadline was met."

Now with declaration coming in that Salman Khan would most definitely bring in Bodyguard on Eid 2011, Kareena knows that it is going to be quite some hard work ahead.

"I would soon be beginning shoot for the Karan Johar film with Imran (Khan)", she talks about (tentatively titled) Short Term Shaadi here, "Meanwhile, Ra.One and Agent Vinod too have to be wrapped up. With Bodyguard coming in as well, it is going to be some really busy months ahead. But yes, it does feel great to be arriving on festive dates year after year."

Since Ra.One has already been confirmed for Diwali 2011, one wonders when would her film with Saif Ali Khan, Agent Vinod, eventually release. The tentative plans as of now are for May 2011 but it won't be surprising if the makers pick the long Independence Day weekend for the release. 15th August falls on a Monday and a 12th August release would give them a 4 day long weekend here, hence adding on to continued celebrations for Kareena. In between all of this, she would also be kick starting her new film with Aamir Khan. As for Short Term Shaadi, how about Christmas 2011?

Some food for thought Kareena? After all it could well be a record waiting to make an entry into the Guinness!