Mammootty, Mohanlal reign in 2006

Thiruvananthapuram, Dec 31 (IANS) Mammootty and Mohanlal, the two superstars of the Malayalam film industry, continued their reign in 2006 with several hits to their name.

While Mammootty had seven releases, Mohanlal had six of the total 64 films this year. Three of Mohanlal's movies were rated as the year's best.

But the film that became the biggest hit was "Classmates", which had neither of the two stars. The movie by Lal Jose revolved around college life and brought together young actors like Prithviraj, Jayasurya and Indrajith.

According to box office reports, "Classmates" raked in a record Rs.100 million.

The leading films of 2006 were: "Classmates", "Rasanthantram", "Keerthichakra", "Thuruppugulan", "Lion" and "Baba Kalyani".

Mohanlal starred in "Rasanthantram", "Keerthichakra", and "Baba Kalyani". Mammootty's "Thuruppugulan" and Dileep's "Lion" also brought in crowds.

Mammootty was appreciated for a wide variety of roles he played, especially in films like "Karuthapakshikal" and "Palunku". Critics say his work in "Palunku" could even bring him his fourth national award.

However, actor Suresh Gopi failed to impress despite seven releases. Jayaram too did not have any successful projects. But ace comedian Jagathy Sreekumar led the race with 21 releases.

Among the heroines, Kavya Madhavan was at the top with six releases, closely followed by Padmapriya with five. Meera Jasmine, who had a great 2005, lost out this time.