Vishnuvardhan Claims Rajinikanth’s ‘Billa’ Was Not a Major Success; Rajini’s Publicist Responds

Chennai, Jan 13 (NationPress) Director Vishnuvardhan has stirred a hornet’s nest by asserting that the original superhit film ‘Billa’, featuring Rajinikanth in the lead role, didn’t perform as well as expected when it debuted in 1980. This statement elicited a sharp retort from Rajinikanth’s publicist, Riaz Ahmed, who highlighted that the film was a silver jubilee hit and urged Vishnuvardhan to verify this with Suresh Balaji, the original producer.

In a recent interview promoting his upcoming film ‘Nesippaya’, which stars Akash Murali and Aditi Shankar, Vishnuvardhan discussed his own version of ‘Billa’, featuring Ajith Kumar and Nayanthara. During this conversation, he made comments regarding the original ‘Billa’, which starred Rajinikanth.

While reflecting on the 1980 release, Vishnuvardhan stated, “Do you know the truth? ‘Billa’ did not actually run all that well. Did any of you know? It did not run all that well. It made me wonder, ‘Am I going to do this film?’ Then I had to see what I actually liked in the film. That was when I realized that they had taken a dark character and made the film. That is a great idea.”

In response, Rajinikanth’s publicist took to his X timeline to correct the record.

In his post, he tagged Vishnuvardhan, writing, “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. #RajjniBillaBlockbuster #ThalaivarNirandharam”

It’s worth noting that Vishnuvardhan’s film ‘Billa’, featuring Ajith, was a remake of R Krishnamoorthy’s ‘Billa’, which starred Rajinikanth and was produced by the notable Suresh Balaje. This film also included Sripriya and Balaji in its cast and drew inspiration from the Hindi film Don, which starred Amitabh Bachchan.