Tamil Movie Billa

The release of a movie is always greeted by a degree of trepidation and an inevitable mountain of expectation, and the Tamil movie Billa is no exception.

Based on the 1980 original, as well as the 2006 movie Don, Billa is in the unusual position of trying to extract the best from both whilst developing and presenting the audience with something faster and better. Like all movie adaptations, it must play its part in improving, yet not completely eclipsing its original.

The hype surrounding the movie already promises much, with the ever present sunglasses and black clothes presenting itself in the slick dark demeanour present in movies such as Matrix and Blade.

The presentation succeeds in this manner, introducing the dark and stylish characters of the movie throughout that would not be out of place at a James Bond poker table. The women are sleek and sexy while the men are rugged and unflustered, with the cinematography playing its part in making this a real visual hit.

The Kollywood film industry is going through a constant evolution with its somewhat tighter budgets than its Bollywood and Hollywood cousins, but this movie plays its part in vamping the industry's reputation and image. The actors to a large extent contribute to this, not least the female contingent, and the commercial reaction to Tamil actress Nayantara, who plays the main love interest and heroine Sasha is testament to this.

She pulls off her role with flawless effiency, and her elegance from start to finish make her a bright star that will take some stopping in future productions.

The story is renowned, with notorious international criminal and Interpol evader Billa dealing in his criminal underworld in Malaysia. The story is kick-started when Billa is caught by mainstay police hardman Jai, played by Prabhu, and subsequently killed.

This turn of events leads Jai to pursue his ambitions of uncovering Billa's criminal network by sending in his own mole in Billa's stead.

The movie continues to take twists as unexpected events leads to the petty thief named Velu, who was picked by Jai to infiltrate the Billa's gang, taking on alot more than he was ever planning to.

Relations close to both Billa and Jai make this a raging and unpredictable story of revenge and betrayal, with the most unexpected loyalties paradoxically emerging from the entire circuit of lust, action and deceit that make this a movie not to be missed.