'Billa' The very name immediately brings before our eyes the tall, dark, young and handsome Rajinikanth with his typical 'style'. A movie to reckon with in the history of Tamil cinema, Billa was a cult movie in the early 1980s, which brought stardom to Rajinikanth.

After almost two and half decades, 'Billa' revisits Kollywood. But this time in a different form. The blockbuster is remade in Tamil cinema to suit the contemporary audience in the same title. The handsome Ajith takes up the mantle from Rajinikanth to play the amiable don  'Billa'.

A heady mix of commercial cocktail, the original version of Billa won the admiration of everyone for the 'Rajinikanth magic' worked well on screen. Hoping to recreate the magic is Ajith. The latter reportedly called on Rajinikanth and sought his blessings and advice on performing the roles before commencing the shooting.

Director Vishnuvardhan, who wields the megaphone for the movie, says, "half the battle was already won when we got the permission from Rajinikanth to remake his 'Billa'. But I was burdened with a responsibility to ensure the remake version match the standards of the original. Hopefully we would satisfy the fans".

Nayanthara dons the role enacted by Sri Priya in the original, while Namitha has performed the character played by Praveena. Prabhu plays a prominent role in the movie.

'Billa' was shot extensively in Malaysia. Says Vishnuvardhan, "with a cream of talented technicians involved in the making of 'Billa', the movie has come technically rich and trendy. We have toiled hard to ensure that every frame appease the audience".

A stunt sequence in Malaysia and a couple chases have been canned well by Neerav Shah.

Yuvanshankar Raja has come up with catchy musical score in 'Billa'. It is stylish and class written all over it, says Vishnuvardhan. The popular songs "My Name is Billa" has been retuned in an excellent manner by Yuvan and captured well by Neerav Shah's lens, adds Vishnuvardhan.

Producer Ananda Suresh is all smiles talking about his home production. "It is a trendy and chic film. Ajith is at his best with all other characters giving him good company. Vishnuvardhan has given a different colour to Billa, which we all are familiar with".

He says the movie has created a lot of expectations among Tamil audience all around the globe. Plans are on to release the movie worldwide next month with subtitles in English.

'Billa' is a movie that is sure to assert Ajith's dominance in the Tamil film industry. Already a mass hero, Ajith will take a giant leap towards establishing himself a 'numero uno star' in Kollywood.