Sabyasachi Chakraborty in Tintorettor Jishu (Below) Shah Rukh Khan in Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi

The superstar takes on the super sleuth at the box office this Friday, a battle that everyone wants both sides to win. Bollywood is banking on Shah Rukh Khan’s Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi to end the year on a high and Tollywood needs Tintorettor Jishu to keep the Feluda hit parade going.

The year-end red carpet has been rolled out with the distributors and exhibitors flooding the screens. Rab Ne with a budget of Rs 31 crore has the king’s share with 69 daily shows at the plexes plus screen space at Menoka, Elite and Malancha. Tintorettor has 20 daily shows at the plexes plus four shows each at Priya and Star.

“It may not be the best time to release a film but I am an entertainer… if through Rab Ne we are able to lift the mood of a few people, that is our success,” Shah Rukh Khan told Metro from Mumbai. “From what I gather, the advances across the country have been very good. Let’s hope everyone likes the film and feels happy.”

The advance windows in Calcutta have been busy from Wednesday. “It’s heartening that people want to watch movies again after a terrible phase,” said Vikas Syal, the general manager of INOX (Forum).

Tollywood hasn’t had a bad year, but the success of Bengal’s favourite sleuth is vital for both money and morale. Vinayak Sarkar of T Sarkar Productions, the producer-distributor of Tintorettor Jishu, said: “The success of the film is important not just for us but also for the industry. It is one of the costliest films around with a budget of Rs 2 crore and it is the first Feluda film to be shot abroad, so its acceptance will only make things bigger and better for Tollywood.”

Tintorettor director Sandip Ray was “nervous and scared” on release-eve. “The last two Feluda films — Bombaiyer Bombete and Kailase Kelenkari — did very well. I really hope this one does well too, with children coming to watch it during their winter holidays.”

Feluda with 29 prints is of course no match for King Khan with 1,200 prints, but distributor-exhibitor Arijit Dutta adds a rider: “While Rab Ne will be big worldwide, Tintorettor will have a wider spread in Bengal.”