They had spaced their movies three months apart but that did not save them from having to face each other at the box office. Saif Ali Khan and Aamir Khan are having a showdown of sorts but, thankfully, not in India.

It is across the borders, in Pakistan, where they will test their powers against each other. Race was released last weekend to a thumping response and its distributors, UTV, did a great job having it censored by the Pakistan board on time for a simultaneous release. But obtaining a censor certificate for Taare Zameen Par was not so easy when it was released in December and the film was cleared in that country only this week.

As a result, we have Race and TZP opening almost simultaneously in Pakistan. Who will emerge the winner? Well, TZP certainly does have the better visibility factor of the two, having been proclaimed a huge hit already and with quite a few awards under its belt. Of course, the star presence of Aamir Khan could also play a vital role in the film’s success. But Race cannot be discounted, as it has the label of the no holds barred entertainer/thriller, the Saif, Akshaye factor, and not to mention the three hottest ladies in Bollywood.

So, what’s it going to be? One hopes it is another repeat of the Christmas-New Year story where Welcome reaped the initial success and left the slow pick-up kind of business for Taare Zameen Par. It certainly is a win-win situation for everyone then.