'Gauramma' scores despite gloomy prophecies

Bangalore, June 22 (IANS) Despite all the gloomy prophecies, Kannada film "Gauramma" has done extremely well at the box-office.

The top five Kannada films are:

1. "Gauramma": Trade pundits had been sceptical about the success of this Upendra-Ramya starrer. With no fight sequences, "Gauramma" did not look like a film that Upendra's fans would lap up. But the movie not only had a great opening, it has been holding fort at theatres.

2. "Akash": The film has completed eight weeks and continues to attract audiences. It has once again proved Puneet Raj Kumar's popularity among the youth. The box-office collections have surpassed the revenue generated by the star's any other release so far.

3. "Shastri": With action hero Darshan in a pivotal role, the film has had a huge opening, collecting around Rs.7 million in the Bangalore-Kolar-Tumkur area. But the collections are expected to fall in the coming weeks.

4. "Aham Premasmi": The collections of this film, directed and produced by Ravichandran, have come down sharply after the first two weeks. The movie, however, may manage to recover its costs. The film got a good response in cities and towns, but the rural audiences rejected it.

5. "Aaptha Mithra": The film is set to complete a year in Bangalore's Santhosh Theatre. Its collections have been good in the B and C grade centres of the state. In Bangalore and Mysore, however, the collections are dipping.