People come out of Mona after a Jab Tak Hai Jaan show and (above) movie buffs wait outside Regent for the screening of Son of Sardaar on Friday. Pictures by Jai Prakash

The two big releases this Diwali, Jab Tak Hai Jaan and Son of Sardaar, are running neck and neck at the box office but “the man who cannot die” seems to have won the battle of hearts.

When it comes to Shah Rukh Khan and Ajay Devgn, residents of the capital seem to be in love with the king of romance. However, Bihar girl Sonakshi Sinha in SOS has been able to pull in crowd required to make the film a festive hit.

“The first day collection of Jab Tak Hai Jaan stood at Rs 2.78 lakh, while that of SOS was Rs 1.53 lakh. At present, we are playing 10 shows of Jab Tak… and eight shows of SOS,” said Abhishek, the manager of Cinepolis in Patna.

He added: “The collection of the SRK-starrer has been approximately Rs 10 lakh since November 13. Son of Sardaar is behind by two lakhs. Yash Chopra’s last film is being preferred more in the capital. On Friday, the 9.45am show was 90 per cent full. The 11am show was 98 per cent booked. However, despite SRK, Katrina Kaif and the Yash Chopra factor, Ajay Devgn’s comic caper, too, is doing well. In Patna, current bookings are preferred to advance bookings and people are going for SOS only if they fail to get a JTHJ ticket.”

However, Regent owner Suman Sinha begged to differ.

“Son of Sardaar has got an impressive response. In the past three days, it has collected approximately Rs 15 lakh. We are playing five shows each day and our ticket rates vary. Every show is running houseful. The Friday evening show is almost full. I cannot comment on Jab Tak Hai Jaan because the film seems to be for a selective set of audience and not for the masses,” Sinha said.

He believes films like SOS are perfect for the festivals. “All kinds of people come to watch films that are a mix of action and comedy during festivals. Sonakshi’s presence helped a lot. We have been in the film business for long and it is a fact that no Yash Chopra film has made it big in Bihar. We are satisfied with the collections of SOS and are sure that the film will do wonders in the coming weeks,” the owner of the single-screen theatre said on Friday.

Mona, another single-screen theatre, is playing four shows of Jab Tak Hai Jaan.

“We generally play five shows but the film is long and audiences’ convenience is our priority. The response has been terrific so far. All shows are booked till Friday. People are loving it,” said Ajay Kataruka, the owner of Mona.

People associated with Mona said the first-day collection of Jab Tak… was around Rs 4 lakh. The total collection has been around Rs 12 lakh.

A representative of a theatre association said: “It is a close competition between the two grand releases this year. Both the films are doing well. In the long run Jab Tak… will take away the festive cake because it has a stronger storyline than SOS. Yash Chopra’s ‘last film’ has been a great factor in promoting the film. However, both the films are just three days old and only the people can tell which is a better one.”

A lover of films and a believer in watching biggies on the first day, Shashank Kumar (22) said: “I have watched both the films and have loved both. Yashji’s last is quite long but has a good storyline. On the other hand, Son of Sardaar is total fun. The two films cannot be gauged on the same parameter.”