Black, white and grey. Review on Billa Movie

The new version starring Ajith seems to be much different  comparing with the earlier ones. Salim Javed's plot has been thinned down and the red diary is a pen drive now, thanks to the computer age. This is one movie , I cannot recall to tell the story. All that reminds in me after viewing the film is black suits and white suits, grey ties,  the frames with black backgrounds,  the black goggles, 'matrix' type characters loitering across the screen, 'tomb raider'  girls leaping in the same costume, 'Kill Bill' flashes  etc. etc.

The film is supposed to be a stylish version, and the director Vishnuvardan is contended with only the styles, it seems and he has triumphed in that angle. The good old story of the Don being killed and a simpleton replaced in his position, to know the great hidden secrets, and black sheep in Police attires has been repeated in Hollywood style and this is something new to our trend. There are no duets, a great change indeed.

The entire film is a journey into this stylish film making. The Hero Ajith always walks in slow motion in most of the scenes, with his ivory black suits or pure white blazers, with a goggle, and most of the characters in the film walk in this uniform like a 'Matrix' movie. The frames are elegantly shot in the same color schemes. To remind us that the film is shot in Malasyia, the twin towers always peep at us from the corners of the frame, except the toilet sequences. All kinds of firearms glitter and release bullets that travel here and there through the frames. Ajith is very handsome in this film, thanks to the costumes. Prabhu is the Iftikar style Dsp and Rahman is the villainous Police Officer, and nothing much to say about these guys. Nameeta as the mammoth girl friend of the Don is quite sexy as always. Nayanathara, I feel is very pathetic and not so beautiful in her Tomb raider costumes. She dares to expose herself in this film in two pieces and cleavages to plunge into the stylish pools. These girls have a fencing sequence too, to add style, and I wonder why the director forgot to add a wresting scene. It would have been more glamorous.

The transformation of the street guy into the don, should have been more elaborate, but the stylish director missed this opportunity for both the film and Ajith. Yuvan Shankar has scored music and the talented young man has remixed the old songs to suit the modern trend, and I personally feel the original songs had more pep, and in most of the scenes, the bgm is like a band playing in a cabaret hall, loud and louder. Cinematographer Nirav Shah has fully exploited the opportunity to present a stylish version, with extraordinary lightnings and stunning visuals.

A film I wish to forget.