This Deepavali is going to be more entertaining than ever. Theatres have lined up five interesting releases.

First, it is the much-awaited Vijay-Shriya-starrer Azhagiya Tamil Magan, which is out after a lot of speculation, followed by Polladhavan, the lone release with an ‘A’ certificate, for its depiction of gore and double entendres, then comes Vel, which marks the return of the Gajini pair - Surya and Asin and Machchakaaran and Kannamuchi Enada.

At a time when theatres are preparing to handle the Deepavali crowds, how can one expect the TV channels be left behind? This time the race for TRPs is very intense, and has spurred them to push all their plans under the rug. The intensity of the secretiveness is evident from the fact that the TV channels have outsourced their Deepavali specials’ post-production work to places like Malaysia and Singapore so as to safeguard their programs from being plagiarized by rival channels.

The secret’s out finally. Sun TV leads the race, screening Simbu’s Manmadhan at noon followed by Gautham Menon-directed Kamal-Jyothika-starrer Vettaiyadu Vilaiyaadu. Close to its heels is Jaya TV, which is airing Vijay’s Madurai, at noon, a dance show later in the evening featuring Vijay and finishing it off with Jeeva’s Dishum at night. The newly launched Kalaingar TV plans to air the Tamilnadu State Film Awards, which was aired earlier on Sun TV, followed by Jeeva-starrer E. Vijay TV, known for their innovative programs, is premiering the Tamil version of the Hrithik Roshan blockbuster Krish. Whether this bevy of films on TV would deter moviegoers is something only the rain gods can answer but with the ticket bookings on and all shows already sold out for the weekend such an event is unlikely. For those celebrating it in front of their tubes, they’d need to have their remotes in hand all day to make the best of the feast.