Ajit has the guts to step into Rajini’s shoes

Remaking old classics is the latest trend in Indian cinema Amitabh Bachchan’s Hindi film ‘Don’ has been remade with Shahrukh Khan in the lead and it is doing really well. Another evergreen film ‘Sholay’ is also to be remade soon. Now, Kollywood is also set to keep in pace with the trend. Gutsy Ajit is going to act in the remake of Rajnikanth’s action classic of 1980 titled ‘Billa’. Veteran distributor L.Suresh of Ananda pictures has bought the remake rights of the film from its original producer K.Balaji and Vishnuvardhan is going to direct the new version. Coincidentally, ‘Billa’ is a remake of ‘Don’. The director has been thinking of remaking it much before Farhan Akhtar but no superstar had the gut to take it up, as they think it would be too hard to face the comparison. However, Ajit has taken up the challenge to act in it and is raring to go. It was ‘Billa’ that made Rajini a superstar. It was directed by R.Krishnamoorthy and featured actors like Sri Priya, Thengai Srinivasan, Major Sounderrajan and Helen. Now, the very thought of acting in this classic has made Ajit really excited and so too is the director. Ajit is said to have even approached Rajini regarding the film and the megastar has given him the nod. So, the shooting of the new version of ‘Billa’ would begin once Ajit completes his current film ‘Kireedom’. The director is currently busy preparing the script of the film though he is retaining the story of the original. Nirav Shah, who shot the scenes of the hit ‘Dhoom-2’ is going to take care of the camera of this film. Yuvan Shankar Raja is the music director and Sreekar Prasad is the editor. The makers of the film are planning to come out with the remix version of two songs from the original with lyrics written by Kannadasan and music composed by M.S.Viswanathan. However, Rajnikanth’s introductory song “My name is Billa” sung by SPB and “Vethialaya Pottendy” sung by Malaysia Vasudevan will be retained in the new version too. It is expected to start rolling in March next year. With the new version of ‘Don’ doing well at the theatres, expectations on ‘Billa’ also will be very high. Wait and watch what will come out of Ajit’s reserves!