It was a classic case of Bollywood's obsession with opening weekend numbers when Shah Rukh Khan requested actor-friend Riteish Deshmukh to advance the release of his Marathi film to ensure an open run for his much-awaited film, Zero. Now, the superstar suddenly finds competition in an unexpected quarter.

South star Yash's Kannada film, KGF: Chapter 1, is set to lock horns with the Aanand L Rai-directed venture on December 21. Interestingly, the Hindi version of the multi-lingual is being presented by Khan's producer friends, Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani.