Tamil star Ajith Kumar’s blockbuster 2007 film Billa is all set to re-release in theatres in Tamil Nadu on May 1 on the occasion of the actor’s 53rd birthday. The news comes just as the star’s competitor Vijay’s hit 2004 film Ghilli has been taking the collections by storm since its re-release on April 19.
Ajith’s Billa, a slick double-action entertainer, holds a special place in the star’s filmography and is widely considered the film that launched him to superstardom. Directed by Vishnuvardhan, the film is a remake of Rajinikanth’s 1980 superhit film of the same name, which in turn was a remake of Amitabh Bachchan’s 1978 Hindi film, Don.
The plot revolves around an innocent man named Velu (Ajith) who learns that he’s a doppelganger of a notorious gangster named David Billa (Ajith). After Billa dies in a road accident, DSP Jayaprakash (Prabhu) tracks down Velu and makes him infiltrate the syndicate while pretending to be Billa since no one is aware of the death of the crime boss. To add more confusion to the mix, a woman police officer named Sasha (Nayanthara), unaware of Jayaprakash’s ploy, also infiltrates the gang to avenge the death of her brother. How Velu manages to go about the plan without exposing himself forms the rest of the plot.
Billa was released in theatres on 14 December 2007 to positive reviews and became a commercial success. This led to a prequel film, 2012’s Billa II, directed by Chakri Toleti, which followed the story of how David Billa grew up to become a dreadful underworld don.
With music scored by Yuvan Shankar Raja, Billa has cinematography by Nirav Shah and editing by Sreekar Prasad. The film was produced by L Suresh and Abdurrahman M under the banner Ananda Picture Circuit banner.
The film is now being re-released by Aravind Suresh Kumar and Gnana Barathi of GB Entertainment through their ATM Productions banner.
The news about Billa’s re-release has become a cause for celebration for Ajith fans, but that’s not all. According to reports, the star’s blockbuster 2011 film Mankatha is also set to re-release in theatres on May 1.
Meanwhile, Ajith is currently awaiting the release of Magizh Thirumeni’s Vidaa Muyarchi. Starring Trisha Krishnan as the female lead, the film has music by Anirudh Ravichander. The Lyca Productions film is expected to release later this year.
It was also announced in March that Ajith is teaming up with director Adhik Ravichandran for a film titled Good Bad Ugly. Produced under the Mythri Movie Makers banner, the film will have music composed by Devi Sri Prasad and is aiming for a release during Pongal next year.
