Billa A Silver Jubilee Hit: Rajinikanth's Team Reacts Strongly To Shershaah Director Sharing 'Incorrect Information'

Rajinikanth is considered as one of the finest actors who graced the Indian film fraternity and have delivered a wide range of successful films throughout his illustrious career. Director Vishnuvardhan, who has helmed films like Shershah, Nesippaya and Arrambam, has come under fire after his recent comments on Rajinikanth’s film Billa a flop at the box office. Thalaiva’s fans have now expressed anger over his remarks.

Vishnuvardhan’s comment on Rajinikanth’s film goes viral

In an interview with SS Music, the director who remade Billa in Tamil with Ajith Kumar said that the 1980 movie did not perform well at the box office. He said in the clip, “Are you aware the original film didn’t work at the box office? I was quite surprised. Then I thought, what is the one thing I like about the film? It was the grey character of the main hero. I said to myself, That is a great idea”.

Fans flooded the comment section and slammed the director for his remarks. One user wrote, “The success of Billa established Rajinikanth as one of the top stars of Tamil cinema.However, historian G. Dhananjayan lamented that it also started the trend in Tamil cinema where the protagonist enjoys being a gangster and the audience is not shown the character's backstory, in contrast to earlier films where the protagonist takes to crime due to societal issues.”

Another user wrote, “Billa was an iconic character that skyrocketed Rajinikanth's fame. Its impact was so significant that Rajini recreated the Billa persona in the song "Thangale Thambigale" from Thillu Mullu. If the movie hadn't been a success, why would they bring it back in such a memorable way?”. Later Rajinikanth’s PR manager Riaz Ahmed countered back on social media sharing the video of Vishnuvardhan’s interview.

What did Rajinikanth’s PR say to Vishnuvardhan?

Riaz Ahmed reacted to the interview of the director on X and said, “Dear @vishnu_dir sir, I would like to politely bring to your attention that the 1980 release #Billa was a Silver Jubilee Hit. You may kindly confirm this with the producer of the original version, Mr. Suresh Balaji. I humbly request you to ensure accuracy in your statements to avoid sharing incorrect information."

For the unversed, Billa directed by R Krishnamoorthy, and also featured Sripriya, Thengai Srinivasan JJ, Major Sunarrajan and R S Manohar and S A Ashokan among others. 

The film was released in theatres on January 26, 1980.