Late last July, I was channel surfing when there was an announcement that Billa, the vehicle that launched Rajni from leading villain in Kollywood to SUPER STAR, was being remade starring ‘Thala’ Ajith.
It was an interesting announcement as Rajni, Ajith, Vishnuvardhan(The Director: More on him later) and the producers were beaming into the cameras. What caught my attention was the Billa 2007 symbol in the background. The word Billa amongst the mesh of Barbed wire(That’s what I thought it was). I suddenly remembered that Billa was the remake of Don (1978: Amitabh’s Pièce de résistance), and that Farhan Akthar had remade the movie in admirable style with Shahrukh filling in the Big B’s shoes. The movie had the cash registers ringing and I thought that the producers of Billa : 2007 were walking the same road.
Now the original Billa of 1980, was not a frame by frame remake of Don, it was essentially the same story but Rajni did manage to prove his acting skills by performing two different roles quite well (I actually think he did a better job than the Big B). Don: The chase Begins, was entertaining to say the least. Farhan Akthar had planted his twists quite well and Shahrukhs performance was good. So when I walked into PVR Bangalore with my family to watch Billa 2007, I was expecting a good ride. I couldn’t have been more wrong:
The movie opens in an aircraft hangar. A private jet and a bunch of guys are waiting(Obviously these clowns are about to be blown away, same as in Don(78), Billa (80) and Don :TCB(06)). A blue Mercedes Benz C Class AMG pulls in and out steps the “Ultimate Star”(Where did he get that Monicker from?) Ajith, sorry David Billa. He looks great: the suit, the sunglasses, the stubble all combine to give him a mean look. But out come the first few dialogues and you know that something is wrong. Then comes the Can trick that Kurt Russel used in Escape from LA close to a decade back and you’re certain that this is good money down the drain. That’s Billa in a nut shell: poorly pasted bits and pieces of Hollywood, Bollywood,Tollywood and all the other woods. The storyline is the same as the original Billa hence there are no surprises and hence no feel good factor. The story crawls and I was impatiently waiting for the interval. The second half was no better with the final scene lifted from US Marshalls. Billa leaves most people with a sense of disappointment. Here’s my take on what went wrong:
Ajith: He looks great, no doubt about it. His voice has that effect which rivets your attention, but he hasn’t given it his all in Billa. He has performed better in Varalaaru and Villain (Both directed by K.S. Ravikumar). His portrayal of Billa, the Swagger, his screen presence and the Arnold Schwarzenegger like “I’m back” is good. His portrayal of Velu, his dancing skills and comic timing are woe betide. The three movies before Billa 07 portrayed Velu/Raju(Billa 80)/Vijay as a simpleton. Here, he is a street smart pick pocket. Ajith needs to lose weight, the bulging paunch is clearly visible. If directors are ok with this I’ll start circulating my portfolio around (Any takers?).
Vishnuvardhan: The old adage ” If it ain’t broken, don’t fix it” holds true in this case. What was the harm in just remaking Don :06? It sure sounds a lot better than watching the remake of a movie made 27 years back and in the same language? Whom are these guys kidding? This Mr. Vishnuvardhan was your chance to get into the same league as Shankar, Ravikumar, Muragadoss and the other big boys. But I guess you decided to give the movie going public a lesson in how not to (re)make a movie. Also I fail to understand the logic of having Ajith dress up in so many suits & sun glasses and having him walk around and stand in so many poses. Too much of a good thing is bad. A good opportunity wasted.
The Molls: Nayanthara and Namitha star as Sasha and CJ, the women in Billa’s world. However they, for some bewildering reason are silent. Nayan has lost weight and looks hot, but her role is limited and I counted about 7-8 dialogues that she says through the movie. 7-8 thats it. She even wears a pair of heels that I cant begin to describe. A jusxtaposition of platform and stilletoes. Comparing her role vis-a-vis Priyanka Chopra in Don 06 is a clear indication of how heroines can be grossly underutilized. Namitha on the contrary has added some of Nayan’s lost baggage and looks hideous. When she gets killed in the movie, the only thought that came to my mind was “Finally: The whale got harpooned”. Comparing her with Isha Koppikar would be a crime and I’m not going to do it.
The Music: Yuvan Shankar Raja’s score piles on the misery. The music doesnt help the movie any better and the title track is the only tune worth listening to.
The Comedy: Thala and the guy from lollu sabha try to provide the comic relief. The keyword here is “Try”. Try as they do, it doesn’t help tickle one’s funny bones. Another nought.
Also Ajith’s jibe at Vijay(Saravana Velu + Ghilli) doesn’t make sense.
The good parts:
Prabhu: Another strong performance by the veteran. But needs to lose weight badly. He is really big on the big screen and thats not a compliment. His dialogue delivery and performance otherwise is good.
The Others: Rahman as Gokulnatha/Jagdish is good. His role is small though.Adithya as Anil Menon has done well (except for his velakannai looks which by the way is to inform the viewer that he is the mole) and his role is quite meaty. The scenes with him and Prabhu are reminiscent of the Kabhi Nahin song (Amitabh Bachchan and Adnan Sami). I’m still trying to figure out as to how tall he is. Rose Dawn as Rhea cant speak Tamil but is good eye candy.
The Action sequences: Though not creating the WOW effect, the scenes are pretty well shot.
The Cinematography: The cinematography is great. The locations are good, however I think there was an overdose in the number of times the Petronas towers makes an appearance.
The Cars: The movie has an assortment of great cars on display. I can recollect the following :
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Mercedes Benz C class AMG
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BMW M 5
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BMW Z3 Roadster
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Mercedes S Class
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Mitsubishi Evo
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A whole bunch of Protons
All in all Billa 2k+7 is disappointing. Please watch it only if you’re a Thala fan or if you’ve not seen any of the predecessors.
Feedback welcomed.
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