| This
thriller has been inspired by the Hollywood blockbuster, Man On Fire. In
this Bollywood version, a retired Army Colonel, Suryaveer Singh (Amitabh Bachchan)
is summoned to Bangkok by Shekhar (Arjun Rampal) on an assignment. His
job is to be the bodyguard of eight-year-old Anamika (Rucha Vaidya) who happens
to be the only daughter of a millionaire couple. There
has been a series of kidnappings in Thailand and so to play safe, the couple employs
Suryaveer to look after their daughter. Suryaveer
was chosen because Anamika's mother wanted a bodyguard who would not just be a
bodyguard but also a friend to her daughter.
However,
Suryaveer has a problem - he is haunted by his past.
Apparently
during one of his assignments in the Kashmir Valley, he accidentally killed two
children. The
shock caused Suryaveer to hit the bottle. So since that day he has been a heavy
drinker. As
Suryaveer spends time with the little girl, she manages to bring out the emotions
which have been suppressed by Suryaveer all these years. He
manages to laugh and be joyful once again. But just at this point in time, Anamika
gets kidnapped.
When
all plans fail for Anamika's release, Suryaveer takes matters in
his own hands to catch the culprits and reunite the little girl
with her parents.
How
he achieves this forms the climax of this high tension thriller.
The
first half shows how a relationship is built up between the bodyguard
and the little girl while all the action is saved for the second
half.
Ek
Ajnabee belongs to Amitabh Bachchan and little Rucha. They manage
to carry this film their shoulders all the way. The remaining stars
are mainly there to provide able support for these two.
A
small twist towards the end involving Arjun Rampal does not seem convincing. Watch
it to find out. As
for Arjun, his character is well defined in this film and seems to be popular
with the girls since he has adorned a totally different getup in this movie.
Overall, this thriller is a must-see if you are an Amitabh fan.
It
has not done so well in the UK cinemas - only screened in 20 cinemas during the
opening weekend, Ek Ajnabee took £35,058 with an average of £1,757
per show. Reviewed
by Manish Gajjar,
BBC Shropshire Bollywood | 
