January 1st, 2008

W ell, here’s a dose of sound logic for all you skeptics out there who say kissing on-screen is not on.

“What’s wrong with kissing onscreen?” asks Priyamani. The actress who has several good projects in her kitty at the moment adds, “I don’t feel shy playing a kiss-scene at all, since kissing is a very natural way of expressing love and affection. So, I was quite comfortable in the kiss scene with Dhanush in Adu Oru Kanakaalam.” To make her point clear, she explains, “My dad kisses me when he comes home after work, and my friends do so when we meet.”

Happy Days continues to be the numero uno film even after completing 80 days – an incredible feat. This fortnight there are three new entrants in the list – Mantra, Anasuya and Don.

The top five Telugu films are:

1. Happy Days – The film is cruising merrily at the box office. It has garnered critical acclaim and commercial success. The film has done exceedingly well in Andhra Pradesh as well as the US. It’s Sekhar Kammula all the way when it comes to successful offbeat films. His different sensibilities as a director enable him to make simple, heart-warming stories with strong characterisation. Both, young and old, have appreciated this tale of eight students set in an engineering college tracing their lives in the four years.

2. Mantra – This whodunit, starring Charmee and Sivaji, is faring well as far as the revenues go. Suspense thrillers and murder mysteries are not common in Telugu film industry. However, Mantra and Anasuya have shown that this genre goes down well with the audience if made well.

3. Anasuya – Bhumika Chawla steals the show as Anasuya in the movie. Playing a TV journo, the actress displays good acting skills. Ravi Babu is good as the villain. This ‘edge-of-the-seat’ thriller directed by Ravi Babu has got critical acclaim (it’s technically slick albeit a bit dark in terms of lighting) and seems to be faring well even though it just released three days ago.

4. Don – Nagarjuna’s only release this year has been at the receiving end in terms of reviews. Reports on the film’s performance are not too favourable. Raghava Lawrence wears many hats – director, actor, choreographer and music director – in the film. Perhaps this was a bit too much on the plate to do full justice. Generally, most star-studded films run for the first few weeks and perhaps the initial curiosity to see it will attract crowds.

5. Thulasi – It continues to be in the reckoning. Family audiences seem to prefer Thulasi. Child star Atulith gives an endearing performance despite the large dose of violence. Venkatesh returns to action in this film filled with commercial elements -