Coming Soon - Billa

Its been so long since I looked forward to an Ajith film with so much enthusiasm. While the actor's past hits and fan following have made sure that every film of his has atleast some hype and expectations associated with it, its been a while since an Ajith film had me counting down the days to its release. But that's exactly what I'm doing for Billa, which is releasing tomorrow. The film's history, cast, technical team, photos, music and trailer have combined to generate a whole lot of expectations and its definitely the film I've most looked forward to since Sivaji.

Billa was one of Rajni's biggest hits and is considered a turning point in the actor's career. So naturally, the remake of the film made news from day 1. But unlike Naan Avanillai, the other recent remake of an old Tamil film, the names associatedwith this remake(I think Ajith, Vishnu Vardhan and Yuvan Shankar Raja were the first names linked to the remake) were promising and even exciting. So there were no concerns about the original being blemished.

I think Billa had a fantastic story and screenplay. The story of a mole among the villains, who eventually ends up on the run from both the police and the bad guys, was strong and the screenplay zipped along with superb pace and many twists and turns. The picturization may have aged and the cast may have been weak but I think the story and the screenplay stand up well even today. Thats probably why Vishnu Vardhan has said that he is keeping the basic story intact (Farhan Akhtar tinkeredwith the story for his Hindi remake and I'm not a big fan of the changes. The final twist was surprising at that moment but just doesn't stand up to scrutiny and makes many sequences - like the Khaike Paan Baraaraswala... song - meaningless). If in fact he is keeping the story the same and updating only the presentation, we can look forward to the film having both style and substance.

Billa gives Ajith the best chance of having a bonafide hit in a long long time. While Kireedam did restore some of the shine after the disaster that was Aazhwar, and Varalaaru before that brought him both critical and commercial success, the actor hasn't had a true blockbuster for some time now. I'm hoping that Billa is it. When I wrote about Billa before the rest of the cast had been announced, I said Nayanthara would be unsuitable for the heroine's role since it involved stunts. But the photos of her in that black, figure-hugging dress have made me eat my words(happily!). Slim and trim, she looks the part and I'm hoping that she looks convincing doing the stunts also. Namitha plays Billa's girlfriend in the villain's gang and inspite of claims that she lost weight for the part, the actress looks just as fat as ever. Prabhu plays the commissioner while Rahman plays the Interpol officer chasing Billa. I haven't seen any photos or news items indicating who is essaying the role played by 'Thengai' Srinivasan in the original but a commentor in one of the early posts said that it was Arun Pandian. I'm not too thrilled by the choice but its not a disaster either.

After working with directors like P.Vasu and Perarasu, Billa finally sees Ajith teaming up with a promising director.While Vishnu Vardhan had a disappointing start with Kurumbu, he surprised everybody with the slick, stylish and surprising Arindhum Ariyaamalum. His next film Pattiyal was one of my favorite films of 2006. Though it dealt with rowdies and dadas, it was very stylish, with the sequence where Bharath and Arya practise with guns in the water-logged warehouse being particularly exhilarating. Based on the trailer, he seems to have upped the style and sleekness quite a few notches in Billa. Inspite of style being present in movies like Pattiyal, Lee, etc., the movies were never as stylish and glossy as Hindi movies like Dhoom 2 or even Dus. At the very least, I'm fervently hoping that Billa ends up on par with those movies as far as presentation goes.

Yuvan has presented the old and the new with 2 remixes and 3 new songs in the album. The theme music is easily the pick of the album. It is very cool and the techno orchestration definitely raises visions of a stylish film. My Name is Billa... and Vethalaya Pottendi... have been remixed with modern sounds and new lyrics. As is usually the case with older songs, our familiarity with the old music makes it seem like the new music doesn't really gel with the song. It might just need more getting used to. Seval Kodi... is a generic song but some of the bits do sound catchy. Sei Edhavadhu... and Naan Meendum... are the my favorite songs in the album.

Let's hope this Billa turns out to be just as big as a hit as the older one and ends up as a landmark film in Ajith's career too...