Billa Tamil Movie

Dec 15, 2007 By PVS

Billa featuring Ajith is slick and stylish in keeping with the present modern world. Director Vishnu Vardhan's job was not easy to remake a Rajinikanth blockbuster that was made 27 years ago. Besides Rajini, two other mega stars, Amitabh Bhachchan (Don 1979), and Shah Rukh Khan (Don 2006) also played Billa. Any comparison of Ajith's Billa with those three old flicks is inappropriate. Amitab, Rajini and SRK did the character in their own highly individualistic styles. So has Ajith. Between 1980 and 2007, film technology has developed amazingly and Vishnu Vardhan has made the best use of the modern technology to make the latest Billa a celluloid extravaganza.

Ajith plays Billa packed with enormous power and poise. Dressed in Armani suits wearing Rayban glasses and moving around with his men flaunting latest guns and gadgets and surrounded by lovely lasses, Ajith looks a hi-tech underworld don true to life. His acting skill in depicting Billa "who symbolizes evil" in the story, touches a new high. He plays the sinister character disguised in a demeanor that is cool. As Velu who is gauche, talkative and witty, Ajith presents a picture of contrast.

Being aware that Rajini is beyond comparison, young Director Vishnu Vardhan did not risk taking chances with the original story. But it was within his power to give the film a fresh, glitzy look. He thought a new location would do the trick and selected Malaysia where the entire film was shot creating an ambience that syncs with Ajith's commanding screen presence. Technical savvy Vishnu has succeeded to a large measure in making the Billa a new experience. There are many scenes with special effects. View the movie from technical angle and it is undoubtedly in par with Hollywood movies. What a pulsating thriller it has turned out to be!

Here goes the story.

Billa (Ajith) is a dashing and debonair modern day underworld don. He has for constant company, two high-fashioned girls, Sasha (Nayanthara) and CJ (Namitha). These two are part of his gang doing the biddings of Billa who is a drug peddler and gunrunner. He is also involved in other nefarious activities and operates in tangent with other international mafia gangs.

He is wanted in 11 countries whose police forces are in hot pursuit of him. They hope the hunt will lead them to the kingpin, Jagdish. These police forces could not lay their hands on Billa. Eventually, a sincere and dedicated Malaysian police officer, DCP Jaiprakash (Prabhu) could nab him after a thrilling car chase. But Bill is found fatally injured. He is left for dead.

Billa's death presents an opportunity for Jaiprakash to uncover the operations by the dreaded international mafias. The DCP replaces dead Billa with a look-alike Velu (Ajith), who is not very clever and trusts people easily. Velu infiltrates the ranks of the mafias and serves as a conduit to pass on all information to Jaiprakash. He gets all that the DCP wants, but not any information about Jagdish, the kingpin of the underworld. The plot thickens when DCP Jaiprakash gets killed throwing the police investigation into disarray, for Jaiprakash was the only person who knew that Bill is dead and Velu is only his look-alike helping the police as their mole.

Gokulnath (Rahman) from the Interpol and Anil (Aditya), the local police chief, who are probing the case, interrogates Velu and they do not believe Velu's statement that he is not Billa. As the matter rests there, Velu escapes from police custody. With the help of Sasha (Nayanthara) he unravels the mystery surrounding Jagdish. With the identity of Jagdish uncovered, the film races to a gripping climax.

Ajith portrayed both the roles of Billa and Velu in a way that is amazingly natural. His performance marks a new high in his acting career. To say the least, it is unprecedented. His style, expressions and body language produce an effect that is electrifying. The car chase in which Billa gets fatally injured<