(From top) Stills from Swades, Raincoat and Rok Sako To Rok Lo (right)

If you thought the Diwali offering from Bollywood was big, to borrow from Al Jolson?s line from The Jazz Singer, you ain?t heard (or rather seen) nothing yet. That?s because pushing up the mercury this December are some of the biggest releases of the year ? some in size, others in content and quite a few in star quotient.

Try Musafir, for starters. Sanjay Gupta wants to take Bollywood to the next level with the film. His Kaante had introduced many firsts in Indian cinema, from making the most of frame speed to using colour filters. Now, he?s ready to make a new style statement with the Anil Kapoor-Sanjay Dutt-Sameera Reddy-starrer.

Aditya Panscholi, who was a regular in Gupta?s early films like Aatish, makes a clean-shaven comeback to tinsel town, while director Mahesh Manjrekar, who made a memorable acting debut in Kaante, plays a wife-beater this time round.

Just like the brief given to music directors Vishal and Shekhar, this film, slated for a December 17 release, ?should kick some ass?!

From a business guru to a Bengali film producer and now a Bollywood director, Arindam Chaudhuri has worn several hats in style. If he believes India needs a school film at this moment, he must have some solid surveys to back his views.

What Chaudhuri has also done in Rok Sako To Rok Lo is completely bypass the star system and go in for a host of fresh faces led by Yash Pandit and Manjari Fadnis. Sunny Deol is the only crowd-puller in the cast, while Jatin-Lalit?s Jo Jeeta-like music score is a top draw. The weeks following December 10 should decide how much box-office business sense the young Planman production team has.

If you are the maker of Bollywood?s biggest Indo-Pak saga (Gadar), you would, we guess, want to repeat your mera Bharat mahaan mantra. That?s what Anil Sharma is trying to do with Ab Tumhare Hawale Watan Sathiyo. If the name is big, the star cast is huge ? Amitabh Bachchan, Akshay Kumar, Bobby Deol? But given Deewaar?s fate, is a filmi focus on Indo-Pak tensions worth the effort? Find out after December 17.

Stills from Musafir (top) and Rog

Call it marketing muscle or Chopra charm, Veer-Zaara is a hit and another jewel in the crown for King Khan. And soon, it will be raining SRK. If there are no last-minute hitches, both Shah Rukh Khan audio (the desi version of The Incredibles) and Shah Rukh Khan visual (Ashutosh Gowariker?s Swades) should hit theatres on December 17. If Swades seems to carry too much of post-Lagaan baggage for Gowariker, Hum Hai Lajawab looks like a winner for sons and fathers.

The Hindi version of Chokher Bali never happened, but Rituparno Ghosh is ready with his first Hindi venture, Raincoat. With favourite Aishwarya Rai accompanied by Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam co-star Ajay Devgan, and lilting tunes sung by the likes of Shubha Mudgal and Hariharan, this should pose a challenge to the audiences ? can a love story without frills and with the focus firmly on two people, be acceptable? If yes, keep an eye on the December 24 release of The Gift of the Magi-inspired tale of love and longing.

After the sinuously sensational Paap, Pooja Bhatt is back with her new production, Rog. The eclectic lead pair of Irrfan Maqbool Khan and South African supermodel Ilene Hamann may not assure the film a great opening. But the steamy scenes, coupled with some haunting melodies by MM Kreem, may just turn the tide in favour of Daddy?s daughter, starting December 24.

For style or substance, it?s one delicious December this. And, you?ll have to watch this space for even more.