Box office - Tiger vs Thalaivar this Friday

Newcomer Tiger Shroff's ability to perform daredevil stunts has been the talk of tinsel town for a while, but now he will be in a different battlefield when his debut film "Heropanti" will release alongside mammoth star Rajinikanth's "Kochadaiyyaan" May 23.

Director Sabbir Khan's "Heropanti" boasts of some high octane action sequences performed by Tiger himself, while "Kochadaiiyaan", directed by Rajinikanth's younger daughter Soundarya R. Ashwin, is being credited with being the country's first 3D animated photo-realistic motion capture film.

It may sound silly to draw a comparison between the two films - considering the different genres and contrasting lead actors - young Tiger and veteran Rajinikanth, but it surely will be an interesting battle at the ticket counters.

"Kochadaiiyaan", which promises some never before seen action sequences featuring Rajini in an animated avatar, was due for release May 9 but two days before it was slated to hit the screens it was pushed ahead due to technical issues.

Made in Tamil, "Kochadaiiyaan" will also be released in Telugu, Hindi and Bhojpuri.

Whether it will affect the expected moolah for "Heropanti" is something one has to wait and watch. But if one goes by recent trends, one shouldn't underestimate the power of fresh talent in the Hindi film industry.

Also, while the curiosity levels for a Rajinikanth film are always on high, expectations from Tiger, who is trained in martial arts, are also valid - given the fact that he's the son of intense actor Jackie Shroff who's pulled off many popular roles in movies like "Hero", "Yudh" and "Karma".

The leading ladies of the films are also in a battle of sorts - while "Kochadaiiyaan" stars Bollywood's top heroine Deepika Padukone, "Heropanti" marks Kriti Sanon's foray into filmdom.

However, there has been hardly any focus on the heroines during the promotion of both the projects.

This will definitely be one Friday to watch out for!