Ek Ajnabee Movie Review: The plot ‘aint’ no Ajnabee man

Banner: G. S. Entertainment Producer: Bunty Walia, Jaspreet Walia Director: Apoorva Lakhia Music: Amar Mohile, Vishal Shekhar What do we say, yet another ?inspired? Hollywood flick this season with Ek Ajnabee taking off from the classic Man on Fire. Out man, Amitabh Bachchan plays a retired colonel of the Indian Army, whose yesteryear subordinate was Arjun Rampal. In an operation against terrorists, Amitabh had accidently killed two children, and the event has left him with such a strong feeling of remorse, that he decided to leave the army and turned into an alcoholic. Arjun also left the army and went to Bangkok. One fine day, Arjun calls Amitabh to Bangkok and asks him to take up the job of a bodyguard for industrialist Vikram Chatwal and Perizaad Zorabian's daughter, Rucha. Amitabh's main task is to protect the girl from kidnapping. Gradually Amitabh becomes very fond of the girl, and they two share a close bond. Just when everything seems to be going just right, kidnappers attack the young girl. Amitabh manages to kill four of the gang members, but he is left seriously wounded, and they manage to kidnap Rucha, demanding one million dollars as ransom. When the ransom is being delivered, police attacks. Kidnappers send the message that they have killed the girl. When he comes out of the hospital, Amitabh takes a vow that he will finish the gang of kidnappers. Does he succeed? And what is the real conspiracy behind kidnapping. The shock comes in the climax. Production values are very good. Guru Raj's cinematography is at par with international standards. Amar Mohile and Vishal-Shekhar's music sounds good. Though the film shows some promise in the beginning, but halfway it looks like a ?routine? action film. Performance-wise, Amitabh Bachchan shows his typical charisma, but he is not convincing as the bodyguard. Arjun Rampal is fair, though his role is not properly developed. Perizaad Zorabian is okay in her limited role. Baby Rucha is superb, looking like a natural born actress. Kelly Dorji, Raj Zutshi, Akhilendra Mishra, Kripa Shankar and Vikram Chatwal provide able support. As the director, Apoorva Lakhia shows his technical skill with his stylish shot compositions.