There is a new Billa in town. And he's all set to unleash his power on December 14. Yes, Ajith Kumar's Billa is all set to explode on the big screen. This Tamil film is a remake of the 1980s Bollywood blockbuster Don, which subsequently spawned a Tamil version, Billa starring Rajnikanth.
And as we get ready for Ajith's Billa, here's a recap of the 'original' released 27 years ago.
The year 1980 was indeed a turning point in Rajnikanth's, personal as well as professional life. The Rajnikanth-Sripriya starrer Billa released in 1980 was a watershed in his career (1980 was also the year Rajni met Latha who became his wife and self-confessedly a solid anchor in his life).
In Billa, Rajnikanth enacted the role immortalised by Amitabh Bachchan in Don, while Sripriya reprised Zeenat Aman's role. The Tamil film audience simply lapped up the film which was mainly due to Rajni's charisma.
M S Viswanathan's music, especially the title track, My name is Billa. powerfully rendered by S P Balasubramaniam, was another highlight of the film.
Billa was directed by R Krishnamurthy (who later came to be known as 'Billa' Krishnamurthy) and produced by thespian producer-director-actor K Balaji who also did one of the most significant roles in the film -- that of DSP Alexander. It was a dual role by Rajni -- first as a mafia-don who gets knocked off in a police encounter and then as an effeminate street dancer, village bumpkin Billa lookalike, Rajappa.
DSP Alexander, the only person aware of Billa's death keeps it under wraps and persuades Rajappa to impersonate and infiltrate into the Mafia gang as the Don. The aim was to reach their kingpin and bust the gang. Balaji was impressive in underplaying the role of DSP.
Major Sunderrajan and AVM Rajan were also in the cast, the former as the Interpol officer Gokulnath and the latter as Police Officer Varma.
Comparisons are odious. If Rajnikanth was his stylish best, the bulky and buxom Sripriya in Deepa's role was not a patch on Zeenath Aman, either in the looks department (made worse by garish make-up) or histrionic talent.
Comedian, villain cum character artist of yesteryears, late Thengai Srinivasan reprised veteran actor Pran's role (in Don) in Billa -- that of JJ, an erstwhile gang member. There was hardly any trace of refinement in Thengai Srinivasan's performance bogged down by overacting and exaggerated mannerisms.
Rajnikanth, Balaji and to some extent Major Sunderrajan were the only actors who deserved any brownie points in the histrionics department in Billa.
Billa's stupendous success was too much for Rajni. He even contemplated bidding farewell to the celluloid world. But thanks to good counselling by his guru and mentor K Balachander and colleagues like Kamal Hasaan, better sense prevailed. Billa introduced a new genre of Rajni films, a mixture of comedy and action. With the phenomenal success of Billa, Rajnikanth's fame and remuneration skyrocketed. The film kicked off the most productive phase of his career and promoted him to the superstar bracket. It was also the harbinger of many of his superhits that followed like Pokkiri Raja, Thanikkatturaja, Annamalai, Yejaman, Muthu, Basha, Padayappa etc.
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