Unluckily, Srinivasan and Director Mohanan - makers of the poignant tale of 'Katha Parayumpol' should be topsy-turvily entangled in their sense about selling remake rights. Yeah! Absurd remakes in two different versions as 'Kuselan' and 'Kathanayakudu' had really balled up the duo's best efforts and now Priyadarshan in no way is different from them. Of course, a film director criticizing the best film 'Slumdog Millionaire' made us perceive him as the one of the best filmmaker who would churn a film thousand times better.
We still can't zero down on the exact reason as to why certain film makers, cannot remake a film perfectly? We aren't expecting a Satyajit Ray but when a film is remade why mess up with beautiful motifs rendered with a master touch.
Priyadarshan may have boasted that he hasn't copycatted from the Tamil remake on any aspect, but not even the location has been changed. Even the blunder committed by P. Vasu has been replicated by Priyadarshan. In Malayalam version, Meena was portrayed perfectly for the role of a lower class family which was completely different in the Tamil as well as Telugu version. Of course, watching Lara Dutta as a housewife from a hapless family background is somewhat absurd. She's embellished with best facial make-overs and that doesn't fit her with finesse.
Bilas Rao Pardesi (Irrfan Khan) is a poor barber in town leading a wretched life with his wife Bindiya (Lara Dutta) and a couple of kids. Their life is studded with bittersweet experiences and they are much stricken by poverty. Bilas isn't able to meet his daily demands, not even making up for his children's school fee. But things aren't the same once a film unit reaches the town and actor is none other than Superstar Sahir Khan (Shah Rukh Khan).
Bilas Rao Pardesi's acquaintance during his childhood days with Sahir Khan is known to the entire village. Now things are completely different as the villagers treat him graciously. Be it the school's head or the ones who lend loans, everyone is ready to favor him. But all that they expect from Bilas is an introduction to the superstar Sahir Khan.
The crucial moment for Bilas comes when he wonders with conflicting emotions doubting whether Sahir would remember him, since Sahir is a top-charting superstar now.
Well, as you all know. The climax is just the same as in the original.
Kudos to Irrfan Khan for a splendid spell from this star. of course, he has been doing it in all his previous films. Looks like Priyadarshan hasn't laid his hands on any of the star-casts as everyone seems to have watched the DVDs of all three versions and finally presented it with their own innovative touch. However, as mentioned earlier Lara Dutta's looks could've been much well carried though. She's so rich in her appearance and doesn't look like one stricken by poverty.
Shah Rukh Khan is up with his own style and as usual his charisma grabs your attention. He scores the best during the climax part with an unforeseen show. But why does this film carry so much of commercial factors, say 3 item numbers? That remains a question in your mind when you walk out after watching the film. It spoils the emotional panorama that was more instant in the original version. Rajpal Yadav does a laudable task on his comedy tracks, especially in the penultimate sequences.
Accidentally, the spellbinding climax penned by Srinivasan (Writer of original version) holds you tight, soaking your eyes. So now you must know who the man to be honored is.
Pritam's musical score is mediocre while a couple of tunes 'Kudhaya Kair' and 'Love Mera Hit' goes for a big round of applause. The background musical score does not deserve a special mention. Manikandan's cinematography is top-notching and precisely, the man has canned the best shots of Pollachi.
At no point, Priyadarshan favors us uniquely stepping out from already existing factors crafted. Manish Korde's dialogues are spellbinding and dwells in your heart even-after the show is over. Arun Kumar's editing is a bit amateurish with lots of unwanted cuts especially in the song 'Marjaani'...
On the whole, 'Billu' is a film that could be enjoyed by those if they hadn't watched the original version. Though filled with bits and pieces of absurdities, the final 20 minutes of the film deserves appreciation getting you to applaud for Shah Rukh's performance.
Verdict: Watch it once!
Rating : **
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