Movie Review: BillaBanner : Ananda Pictures
Rating: 3.75/5
Cast : Ajith, Nayantara, Namitha, Prabhu Ganesan, Rahman, Rose Dawn
Music : Yuvan Shankar Raja
Cinematography: Nirav Shah
Editing : Sreekar Prasad
Producer: L Suresh
Director: Vishnu Vardhan
Release Date: December 07, 2007
Story
Vishnu Vardhan has come up with a no-nonsense fast moving action flick which stands a class apart from the regular remakes. The movie revolves around the dreaded and most wanted gangster Billa (Ajith) and he is tracked by none other than the top cop Jai (Prabhu). The cop manages to get Billa on the hold but then accidentally kills him due to inevitable circumstances. Now , in order to know the whole roots of the gang he has to look for another alternative and in comes Velu (Ajith) , a small time thief but a Billa look alike who becomes the solution for Jai. Velu is then trained and infiltrated into Billa's gang as Billa himself. On the other hand, there is Sasha (Nayantara)who is out to seek revenge of her brother's death by killing Billa and then the beautiful CJ (Namitha) who is the girl friend of Billa and last but not the least the big boss (Raghuman). Story takes a turn when Jai gets killed and Velu is stuck with no way out. How Velu handles things and what happens to the gang forms the rest of the story.
Presentation
Vishnu Vardhan has done an impressive job for two reasons. Firstly, he is making a remake of the biggest superstar in the industry who still rules and secondly, the story is a known dish to the audience and the challenge is to keep them captivated. Vishnu has made his point very clear in his presentation and narration and without doubt showed his film by not challenging the original. The icing on the cake is some excellent cinematography (Nirav Shah) aided with some beautiful costume design (Anu Vardhan). Yuvan Shankar Raja needs no introduction as his background score was excellent and so are his numbers. Ajith has been a revelation in this one and has performed well as Billa without trying to ape Rajni however the character of Velu was a bit ignored as it seems that Vishnu was keen on projecting Billa. Nayan makes a sizzling presence felt and her introduction is a treat. Namitha has done justice to her role with some glitzy outfits and both the heroines have provided sufficient visual feast for the audience. Prabhu and Raghuman carried out their roles with ease.
Conclusion
A stylishly made film with some sophistication and some skilled action sequences. More than the content, the movie can be given credit for its technical values and some good stellar performances by the cast. The movie is fast paced and does not leave the audience bored, however there are a few gaps like Nayan's character could have been much better, there are a few open ended questions though not very provoking.