Saturday, January 12, 2008

Reel Review - Billa


While Billa may not spring a surprise when it comes to the story line.But except for the story rest of the stuff takes you by surprise and is all class from the word go with the movie setting a racy pace with breathtaking camera work in Malaysia.

While one may observe some slackness in the narration from time to time, may be too many times Ajith and gang are shown walking in slow motion.

Ajith has never looked so stylish and as Billa his screen presence tells it all. For Namitha nothing much and she does whats expected of her as CJ, who is desperately fond of Billa. Nayanthara as Sasha who gets close to Billa and becomes his confidant to get revenge from him is surprising. Nayanthara is simply stunning and she is all confidence personified in her role. But, her role could have be more meaty. She looks stone faced most of the time! Jagdish as the Interpol officer has done well and sports a stylish look.

Prabhu as the cop who is in Malaysia to nail Billa is kind of ok, but doesnt fit the bill so well. The portion where Prabhu convinces Velu (Another Ajith who is a thief) to don the role of Billa after Billa's death to get to the gangsters is not convincing. More convincing scenes could have been added.

After Billa' death, the rest of the plot is how Velu as Billa helps himself out of the gang who are behind him to kill him and get back the secrets he has got access t,o and finally who is the actual Jagdish - the most powerful Don around.

The black or white costumes and the bluish picturization are a class. Nirav Shah's camera work is terrific and my name is Billa though the song is not great, it makes for fantastic viewing. The picturization of the stunt sequences especially the car chase and the stunt on top of the hanging bridge are breathtaking.

Yuvan may not have scored much with the songs, especially the 2 remix songs - My name is Billa and Vettalai pottaen are pretty ordinary. But, the background score is scintillating.
Billa, will be a milestone in tamil movies, for its sheer class and attitude with its costumes, background score and picturization.
Turn Ons: Ajith and Nayanthara, Stylish look and costumes, Terrific sets, Action Sequences, Yuvan's Background score, Nirav Shah's camera work
Let Down: Remix songs, Slow Narration
Punch Dialogue: Ajith says 'Muruganukku aaru thala, enakko oru thala'

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