Salman or Akshay? 'Tubelight' and 'Crack' at the box office next year

15 August was a day of big announcements in Hindi cinema. Even as the news of Tiger Shroff joining the cast for the sequel of Student of the Year was settling in, two big announcements came through. 

Director Kabir Khan released the first look of his next Indo-China venture, Tubelight, starring Salman Khan. The film is set during the 1962 Indo-China war, and has Salman playing the role of a soldier. The newly released poster features Salman, in his complete army outfit, carrying a rucksack and a gun, trudging through the vast expanse of Ladakh. 

Meanwhile, Akshay Kumar took to Twitter to announce his next venture with director Neeraj Pandey, Crack. The actor and director have previously combined to deliver some critical and popular films like Special 26 (2013) and Baby (2015). 

Both films are set to release next year. Coincidentally, Neeraj Pandey and Kabir Khan have delivered some socially and politically relevant films in recent years. While Kabir Khan's Ek Tha Tiger (2012), and Bajrangi Bhaijaan (2015) and Phantom (2015) spoke about the fractious relationships between India and Pakistan, Neeraj Pandey's Special 26(2013) and Baby (2015) dealt with corruption and patriotism respectively. The only difference remains their style of filmmaking, with Kabir Khan possessing a little more commercial expertise than Pandey. 

There are more coincidences. Salman is reportedly playing a soldier with special needs (slow) in Tubelight. Meanwhile, Akshay's new poster clearly states 'Akshay Kumar in and as Crack', implying that he plays a crazy character. 

Regardless, both posters look good, and have created quite the buzz on social media platforms. Considering the massive fan base of both actors, it would be a blockbuster contest next year.