'Yamadonga' topper despite new Telugu releases

Finally, "Hello Premistara" starring Sairam Shankar, who is Puri Jagannath's brother, hit the theatres this fortnight. The film's release had been postponed due to the recent bomb blasts. With security tightened in some theatres, the audiences have now started returning to the cinema halls.

Despite the new release and bomb blasts, "Yamadonga" seems to be ahead in the ratings and tops the chart.

The coming weeks will see Shekhar Kammula's "Happy Days" and Puri Jagannath's "Chiruta", which is the debut vehicle of Chiranjeevi's son Ramcharan Teja.

The top five Telugu films are:

1. "Yamadonga" - The film is still running in over a dozen theatres after a month of its release. Despite unfavourable reviews, the films is doing good business and director S.S. Rajamouli and actor N.T.R. Jr. certainly have reasons to smile at its success. The music by Keeravani continues to be on the audio charts.

2. "Raghavan" - A dubbed Telugu version of "Vettaiyadu Vilayadu", the film seems to have impressed the audience. The film is a good effort by director Goutham Menon. It has brilliant acting by Kamal Haasan and Jyothika. Some of the good Tamil films dubbed in Telugu are doing brisk business at the box office.

3. "Yamagola Malli Modalaindhi" - This rib-tickling comedy is still running in the theatres and doing average business. Some good performances seem to have made a difference.

4. "Chandamama" - Director Krishna Vamsi's film is a simple entertainer set against a rural backdrop and has made it to the list. "Chandamama" is reportedly going well with the audience.

5. "Lakshyam" - A decent entertainer, the film continues to do well, auguring good times for actor Gopichand.

Indo-Asian News Service