My name is Billa

Suave, Sleek, Smart, Stylish and quite Disappointing. That's the Billa 2007. The film takes Tamil Cinema to new heights and is a technical feast. The cuts, the angles, the camera work and Ajit himself, are, to put it, simply a treat for the eyes. Ajit shimmers in his role as Billa. Retaining his touch to the script, Ajit very intentionally and rightly, has not tried to recreate Rajni. That's the high point of the movie. Many a remake is lost due to this faux pas recreation of the yesteryear artist. Billa 2007 has befittingly abstained from that.

Amidst rumors of the movie taking a cue from Farhan's Don, surprisingly, the movie is most loyal to Rajni's Billa. The director has rightly done so, as spin offs from Farhan's movie would have created unhealthy talk. The characters appear fresh in each frame and the color composition of the movie is brilliant. The cinematographer's choice of filters and sublime look is commendable. Nirav Shah has indeed done a good job of it. The film tries to be stylish and surpasses the style expectations. Editing is astute. Till that point, the movie is fine. The Catch-22? The script.

Billa 2007 sticks to the original like a leech and, the drought of twists or turns in this movie creates an aura of drag throughout. The movie seems as if the director was in a quagmire all along. The script pulsates between Ajit and the story, leaving the audience in a dilemma. The first half of the film is dominated by Billa(Ajit), where he's being continuously shown in various frames, disembarking from premium cars and helis, and the never-taken-off-eyes Ray Ban glasses. Dialogues are neither prominent nor many, and do not make much noise. It is the style quotient that is vivid in this part of the movie. The story creeps, and the screenplay inches along. It is clearly not one of Vishnuvardhan's best. Billa is an international smuggler who is desperately being hunted by the police force headed by DSP(Prabhu). After several unsuccessful attempts to nab Billa, the team hatch out a plan and finally corner him. Billa escapes once again, only to be shot at. Unable to sustain his injuries, he dies. This is where the film picks some pace. The DSP(Prabhu) etches a plan to find out the other smugglers and finds out an identical personae for replacing Billa. Velu(Ajit) is convinced to act as Billa. Gokulnath(Rehman) also appears as an Interpol Officer, and his presence puzzles Prabhu, who does not let know anyone about the plan. Santhanam, appearing as Velu's friend does a good job, given the role constraints. The first half ends with Velu announcing himself as Billa to his gang.

The second half makes a quite interesting segment, as there are pretty interesting dialogues. The masterful actor that he is, Ajit effectively potrays the variance between the real Billa and Velu as Billa. Good work, indeed! On the director's front, I do expect a minimal twist and suspense in the storyline when you are Vishnuvardhan. It is there that the film falls and the audience is let down. After some cliched twists in the movie, the DSP is shot dead and the whole Billa gang is caught. Velu is posed with no alternative but to confess that he was acting as Billa and it was a part of the DSP's plan. With the DSP dead, how Ajit manages to convince the police that he is Velu forms the rest of the movie.

Namitha and Nayanthara fail to make an impression and should have put in more effort to add to the oomph factor, atleast. The person in the role of Ranjit looks stale in expressions, but is an able character in the movie.The songs lack finesse and though shot well, fail to linger in the minds of people after the movie is done with. Rehman and Prabhu are fine with their part. Rehman, although has played his part with a subdued effect which makes him look more good than Major Sundarajan in the original Billa. Characterizations are apt.

It's smart. It's chic. It Hollywood influences are rightly seen. Ajit as Billa, is nothing short of handsome and gets into the skin of the characters seamlessly. No comparisons can be made with the original and that's the foremost flavour of Billa 2007. The story though, might have its annuling effects and is likely to not go down too well with the audiences.

Well, to make a remake is an effort. To make a success of it is another story altogether. To make a remake out of a successful remake, cannot guarantee success. Showbiz is never that simple. But, Billa just might prove to be a success story after all.