Two of the most eagerly awaited Bollywood films released this 'longgggg' weekend and attracted a lot of attention, eyeballs and reams of media spotlight. The stakes were high as the releases were marked by a lot of additional spotlight on other side elements such as: Hrithik’s first film after his separation; Shahid’s second film with Vishal Bhardwaj; Hrithik’s second film with Katrina Kaif and Shahid’s first with Shraddha Kapoor; the faceoff between Fox Star Studios and UTV-Disney; Hrithik vs Shahid as dancing stars; amongst others. Ostensibly there is no comparison between the two films as they belong to different genres but from the Indian audiences’ point of view (after all, both the films are vying for the same share of wallet), there will be comparisons – similarities and differences – that will come into play. Tellychakkar.com tracks 10 of these elements that will be either loved or hated... With ‘Bang Bang’, Hrithik proves that he is a popular mainstream crowd puller whereas after the masala ‘R. Rajkumar’, Shahid makes a pitch for being recognised as an actor star. Shahid goes deep into character and scores with the critics (especially the English media critics). In Haider even Vishal needs a Salman to pay tribute to mainstream masala as his hero is a real character whereas in Bang Bang every frame plays tribute to Hrithik and Hrithik alone Director Vishal Bhardwaj has definitely added more feathers to his crown and is far by miles better than Siddharth Anand, as per most critics. ‘Haider’ scores in terms of great character roles played by an ensemble acting cast whereas Bang Bang doesn't give any scope to the supporting star cast (talented actress such as Deepti Naval is wasted). In the black vs white battle in ‘Bang Bang’ the ubiquitous Danny Denzonpa emerges as a dark baddie in ‘Bang Bang’ and mouths impactful good dialogues on the big screen in a long long time (Abbas Tyrewala) while ‘Haider’ has many 'villains' with grey shades. In terms of heroines, Katrina proves that she is a mainstream popular star whereas Shraddha’s role evoked neutral reactions. However, with the both the films being male dominated, Tabu holds her own and even rules and scores over the several marquee male protagonists in Haider and probably all the other mothers-fathers (Deepti Naval, Kanwaljeet Singh and Katrina’s modern Granny) in ‘Bang Bang’. ‘Bang Bang’ scores in terms of popular songs cum dance sequences whereas ‘Haider’ draws an occasion applause for ‘Bismil’. Hrithik gets better scope to showcase his dancing steps and emerges as a favourite with the audiences who loved his moves. Yet Shahid has his rare moment in ‘Bismil’ where he proves what he is capable of... In terms of locales, ‘Bang Bang’ scores over ‘Haider’ but ‘Haider’ showcases Kashmir like never before. In ‘Bang Bang’, the cinematographer scores in terms of showcasing international locales while in ‘Haider’, the cinematographer scores in realism and people's expressions and environment locales compliment people. Bang Bang has never seen before (in a Hindi film) stunts in the seas-ocean while Haider doesn't boast of any. However in ‘Haider’, guns blaze and bullets fly with realism while in ‘Bang Bang’ the special effects seem kiddish and contrived – with the gaffes actually visible to the trained eye. ‘Bang Bang’ shows the Indian army in positive light while ‘Haider’ shows it in negative light. In the context of the recent Kashmir floods, where the army’s role was much appreciated, the film may invite the ire of the armed forces for digging past skeletons. Although Vishal Bhardwaj acknowledges the army’s numerous contributions in the ending credits. In ‘Bang Bang’, the plot borders on unrealistic and farfetched to the core ( for example the Kohinoor being stolen or not stolen) while in ‘Haider’ realism and honesty is in every frame. ‘Haider’ is too self indulgent. In ‘Bang Bang’ there were several moments when one could hear guffaws from audiences in the theatre whereas ‘Haider’ doesn't evoke any laughs or entertains audiences. ‘Bang Bang’ actually tickles and titillates audiences (for example, Hrithik’s kissing classes and tips to Katrina). ‘Haider’ introduces sensitive subjects like incestual relationship between mom and son while ‘Bang Bang’ is quite strait laced. This must be the first time in mainstream cinema that a mom would have kissed her son on the lips!!!! Finally the initial box office numbers say it all – approximately around Rs. 51 crore (India collections) for ‘Bang Bang’ and Rs. 11.5 crore for ‘Haider’ (India collections) during the first two days (Thursday and Friday). Hrithik-Katrina add to their jodi's lucky pairing at box office success story saga. Audiences seem to indicate that they would have wanted more of Tabu-Irfan and Shahid-Shraddha. On the festive occasion when audiences want a high and positive entertainment, was ‘Haider’ too dark and negative?