Billa (2007) Movie Review

It was Chandra Barot's DON with Amitabh Bachchan that set the screens on fire.

Nearly a decade later, Rajnikanth's BILLA stormed the box-office records and entitling him the SuperStar status.

Then came SRK-Farhan Akthar (Dil Chahta Hai, Lakshaya fame) version of the DON but with a slick and thirlling output. This one become part of the highest-grossing films in Bollywood back in 2006.

Now Ajith Kumar comes to "don" Rajni's role as BILLA 2007.

This Vishnuvardhan film (PATTIYAL FAME) is neither good, nor bad. It's plain average. Remaking a classic is one thing [look at RGV's AAG for instance], but making it to fit to the standards of today. In this case: Have mass star do tricks-add in glamour to distract viewers-fill in songs for duration and repeat. If you remember I had an article related towards SearchIndia Rehka's review on this film.

In the end, BILLA 2007 doesn't quite live up to expectations. It ends up giving you an average film. But more on that later (and this doesn't mean that I'm biased towards Bollywood or SRK or a "you must be a ____fan".)

BILLA (Ajith Kumar) is an underworld don who's trade is booming with illegal underground activities. With a team behind his back, BILLA succeeds in becoming the DCP's (Prabhu) and the Malaysian Police's most wanted criminal. Along the way, they encounter Sasha (Nayanthara), who joins Billa's gang to get revenge on Billa himself. A series of circumstances later forces Velu (Ajith in double role) to impersonate Billa and so on.

Let's talk about the pros and cons of this BILLA. For instance, Vishnuvardhan has basically copied scene-by-scene of Farhan's locations from the DON 2006 (the bridge confrontations, several city bazaars, downtown fights, etc.) Also the bulk portions of the film is really really dull.

Another problem with this BILLA is the half-baked characters. C.J and Sasha's roles become utterly useless and in the end become a damsel glamour contest. Also the lack of Arjun Rampal/Pran's character is gone, giving the film some more awkward moments. Added to that, the songs by Yuvan Shankar Raja aren't upto mark. Barring the remix of "My Name Is Billa", the rest of the songs are fast-forward variety and wasted. Anthony's Edits are loose. The highpoint of DON was the ultimate climax whether as here, it's mssing. Seems like Vishnu focussed on Ajith's character and Prabhu's character while getting carried away at the same time.

Ajith as Billa is okay but it's Ajith's Velu who's the best. But the actor needs to take care of his physique as major portions of the film has his pot-bellied ponch showing. Nayanthara and C.J are okay, nothing worth mentioning. Prabhu is highly competent. Rahman is average.

On the whole, BILLA is a so-so film.

Rating: *** (3/5)