'Vasoolraja' tops the Tamil Boxoffice

Chennai, Aug 18 (IANS): "Vasoolraja M.B.B.S.", the Tamil remake of the National Award winning "Munnabhai M.B.B.S.", heads the box office with Kamal Haasan as a doctor in the making clearly striking a chord.

The top five Tamil films are:

1. "Vasoolraja M.B.B.S.": The film did not get a bumper opening, as there was not much publicity before its release. Though the film is not a patch on the original, to those who have not seen "Munnabhai M.B.B.S.", "Vasoolraja" can be an enjoyable comedy. Crazy Mohan's dialogues are witty though not as funny as the original. Kamal Haasan has done better comedies before. But the film is expected to do good business.

2. "New": Director S.J. Suryah is riding high on the unprecedented success of his film. Spurned by the elderly and women, but loved by naughty youngsters, the film is this year's next super hit after "Gilli". Youngsters in Tamil Nadu are whistling at the bold scenes and the double entendres.

3. "Gilli": With last week's new releases "Shock" and "Sullan" not living up to expectations, "Gilli" has once again jumped to the top. Vidyasagar's songs, particularly "Appadi Podu", have a lot to do with the success of the film.

4. "Azhagiya Theeye": This low-budget, realistic film produced by award-winning actor Prakash Raj had a lukewarm opening, but those who saw the film found it different. Word of mouth publicity, it seems, has helped the film. After "Autograph", this is the film with a good story and a realistic approach.

5. "Jore": While the much-publicised "Sullan" and "Shock" took a hasty retreat, this low profile film with a lesser known hero like Sibi Raj is doing good business at the box office. Another attraction of "Jore" is that it has Sathyaraj, Sibi Raj's real father, playing his reel father.