Being an Ajith fan, let me try to write an unbiased review of "Billa 2007" which hit theatres two days after the birthday of the real Billa and more than two decades after the release of the original Billa. To begin with, the whole crew of the movie has to be lauded for providing such a visual extravaganza new to Tamil Cinema. Everyone knew even before the movie shooting began that Ajith was the perfect choice for acting as Billa in the remake, but after the movie release, one will also whole-heartedly agree that Vishnuvardhan was the perfect choice for director too. He has pleased Ajith fans by presenting Thala at his stylish best ever. One wonders if the director too became an ardent Ajith fan while shooting the movie. Right from the introduction scene Ajith shines as the new look Billa. However, the number of ramp-walk sequences with Ajith advertising Rayban and Raymond could have been reduced.The story need not be reviewed for a movie which is a remake of a remake. Vishnuvardhan cannot honestly say that his movie drew no inspiration from SRK's Don. A lot of visuals remind you of Don, but the story remains consistent with the original Billa and has no major twists as in Don 2006. This is a minor disappointment, but after seeing such a stylish movie one must realise it would not have been without reason that the director didn't introduce the Don twist, or something similar. By remaking a Rajni movie, he had to make sure he didn't hurt the sentiments of Rajni fans by deviating from the original plotline. SRK could afford to do it, as Amitabh is not as huge a demi-god as Rajnikanth is considered. Having said all this, Billa 2007 sure surpasses SRK's Don in terms of music, style and technology. Well, not that it's a pen drive here instead of a CD or a diary, but Nirav Shah's cinematography stands out in several shots. The stunt sequences deserve mention too, notably the car drift-chase scene which has been directed brilliantly, what with Ajith himself doing the stunts having been a Formula-3 racer.
In the acting department, Prabhu and Rahman play their roles in a dignified manner, and you don't have to guess who will turn out to be the villain. The heroines - Nayantara and Namita have not been given considerable screen space, naturally, but they are as slick as and infact more glamorous than Priyanka and Isha respectively. Nayantara's intro is as good as Ajith's and Namita's character even has a twist associated.
Yuvan Shankar Raja's music must be hailed as one of the biggest highlights of the movie, be it in the songs or in the background score. The theme music has been composed in so stylish a manner that it adds more value to Ajith's looks and style whenever he walks on the screen. "My Name is Billa" and "Sei" have been picturised wonderfully, each of them following a unique style which was not in any of the older versions.
To sum it up, Billa 2007 will be a trendsetter for Tamil Cinema in terms of filming techniques, quality and style and will no doubt be a very significant milestone in Ajith's career.
