'Aaptha..', still number one

Bangalore, April 5 (IANS) "Aaptha Mithra" continues to remain at the top and is marching towards the 250-day mark in five major centres of Karnataka.

1. "Aaptha Mithra": The film's collections have improved all across the state. In some centres like Bhadravathi, where the film did not do very well in the first run, it's collections have increased dramatically. In Bangalore city, collections from the film are rising even in its 32nd week. This is despite competition from big-budget films like "Raakshasa". The film is expected to run for a year at least in two or three big city centres.

2. "Ayya": The film has completed 50 days in many centres this week. This Darshan-Rakshitha-starrer had a huge opening, which helped producers to recover costs in three weeks. All the distributors have also recovered their money. Though the film is not such a big hit as the earlier Darshan-Rakshitha-starrer "Kalasipalya", it has certainly established the box-office credentials of both the stars.

3. "Raakshasa": Produced by Ramu, this is an action film with a huge budget and Shivaraj Kumar as the lead actor. It has just finished a week's run and collected more than any Shivaraj film in recent days.

4. "Rishi": This Shivaraj Kumar-Vijaya Raghavendra starrer, directed by Prakash, has steadily marched towards its 100th day in Bangalore. But, it has not done well in rural centres.

5. "Maharaja": This Sudeep starrer had a good initial, but the collections started dropping. It is doing better in interior areas.