10 Years for 'Billa': The Meher Ramesh film that proved Prabhas is a star

A little more than a decade ago, actor Prabhas had been approached by the filmmaker Meher Ramesh with the remake of the 2007 Tamil film 'Billa'. The result was a movie that was less of a breath of fresh air and more of a welcome punch to the gut. Whether it’s the depiction of complex lead characters or how it meshed music with narrative (it was composer Mani Sharma’s breakout film), ‘Billa’ was less about plot and more about trapping an audience in the messy state of its proceedings.

        

It's been 10 years since the beloved Prabhas starrer hit screens on April 3, 2009, quickly becoming a super hit. The relatively low budget film also catapulted its stars, particularly Prabhas and Anushka Shetty into A-list status, where they've stayed ever since. Of course, aside from the cast's good looks, a major part of the film's success was the undeniable chemistry between Prabhas and Anushka Shetty, who rumoredly dated in real life. However, the duo later denied the rumours of dating with each other.

This was rare, especially for a Prabhas film! This clearly proved that the talented actor was not over and that he’s here to stay. Surprisingly, 'Billa' is no classic. The film has its share of glitches and doesn’t enjoy unanimous acclaim or is remembered one of the best films of Tollywood. However, the movie has its charm and definitely, it has tremendous repeat value. The film tells the story of an ACP Krishnamurthy who installs a look-alike of a Malaysia-based international gangster to bust the gang and complete the mission for the sake of him.

       

Prabhas is definitely the soul of ‘Billa’. He plays the character of a notorious underworld don Billa as well as a petty thief Ranga effortlessly and the way he essays the part, nobody can. No wonder, he became so huge with the masses and turned him into a household name and a heartthrob of many. The beginning portions of ‘Billa’ are excellent and it’s great to see the macho look of Prabhas in the intro scene when he walks down from the landed helicopter. Like this, there were so many scenes that were entertaining and make for a great watch even after a decade.

        

The love story blossoms in the second half when Ranga comes on the place of Billa and falls in love with a brave woman named Maya (played by Anushka Shetty). The climax is moving and very well executed. Even though there is no substance in the film, the characterization of Billa is all style and perfect. He’s really appreciative of everything. This also increased its reach, further contributing to its box office success.

      

And there's still a definite interest in 'Billa' 10 years after its release. Besides the performances, direction and writing, which also worked big time for 'Billa' was its super-hit music. Each and every song is nice and soulful and has stood the test of time. The romantic track "Ellora Shilpanni" is also quite endearing and amusing, especially to see Prabhas going to insane lengths to woo Hansika Motwani. "Bommali" and the title track "My Name is Billa" are already evergreen.

        

After ‘Billa’, Prabhas continued delivering quite a few hits like Ek Niranjan, Darling, Mr Perfect, Mirchi and the mighty 'Baahubali'. Prabhas’ career has been a roller coaster journey, with a lot of highs and lows. As the lead in his debut film ‘Eeswar’, he got noticed but it was his third film, the romantic action drama ‘Varsham’ that made him a nationwide phenomenon. 'Baahubali' was an exceptional flick and still ranks as arguably Prabhas’ best performance till date. He will be next seen in Sujeeth Reddy directorial ‘Saaho’, Radha Krishna Kumar directorial film.

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