Billa

Like melting the grandmother's ornament to remake a bracelet for the grandson, director Vishnuvardhan has handled 'Billa' in the image of old 'Billa.'

As many of this generation may not have an opportunity to have seen 'Billa,' here is the story of the new 'Billa.'

The authorities are chasing David Billa, the international crook who began life as an ordinary man and went through murder, burglary, smuggling and so on. To Billa, it is easy to evade police search in Malaysia.

Is it not common to believe that there should be a mightier person than a mighty one? The special police officer sent to Malaysia to apprehend Billa is none other than Prabhu. Finally when Prabhu apprehends Billa (Ajith), he dies.

Prabhu thinks that this will create suspicion among higher officials; he creates another Billa who is a duplicate of the original Billa. The story is about what all the duplicate Billa (Ajith again) does to encounter the problems that come to him in his new avatar.

Ajith looks so perfect like a Hollywood actor, you need a bagful of chilli power to ward of any evil eye on him! The way he holds himself, walks around in a suit and wearing coolers, Ajith deserves to be called the 'James Bond' of Tamilnadu.

Ajith, Namitha Like the way he conducts himself in public in the recent past, he has not exceeded the limits in dialogues. His silence like that of a deep sea, leads to lot of meanings.

Vadivelu, who becomes the duplicate Ajith, earns the appreciation of the audience. The theatre goes into a rapture when Prabhu remarks that if it were to be Billa he would have said exactly how many bricks were used in the building, and Ajith's cool reply is, "Perhaps he was a mason."

Both Prabhu who appears as a Police superintendent and Raghuvaran who comes as his police colleague, are chosen as a perfect fit for the roles.

Nayantara who is given to titillating dances appears as an iron woman. But in that one scene at the swimming pool where she appears in a two-piece, she eclipses Namitha, the other heroine, in the glamour quotient.

In Yuvan's music, only the number "My name is Billa" is good, whereas the song "Vethalaiya pottendi" is slightly off key and dull.

Having paid special attention to cinematography and style to the level of Hollywood films and not to the screenplay makes 'Billa' very slow moving.

'Billa' stands tall only in the making.