Ek Ajnabee

Plot synopsis:
Colonel Suryaveer "Surya" Singh (Amitabh Bachchan) is a bitter man and ex-Army officer, hired by his friend and former comrade Captain Shekhar Verma (Arjun Rampal) to protect a little girl, Anamika R. Rathore (Rucha Vaidya), who resides in Bangkok, Thailand with her Non-resident Indian (NRI) family. He drinks alcohol frequently, and is not interested in befriending the girl. Eventually, she wins his heart and he helps her to prepare for a swim meet. One day Anamika gets kidnapped and Surya receives serious injuries in his attempt to prevent the kidnapping. Her father is not able to pay the sum to release his daughter. So Suryaveer uses all his skills to save the life of the child, only to find out about the conspiracy that is behind the little girl's kidnapping. Surya learns that Chang, Shekhar's lawyer, is behind some of this. The real mastermind behind this is Chang's brother. Surya holds Chang hostage, while Chang's brother holds Anamika hostage. When they come to exchange the people, Chang's brother reveals a great secret to Surya. Surya learns that Shekhar was all behind this. Surya kills Chang's brother's men. A great fight between Shekhar and Surya starts. Shekhar is killed, and Surya spends the rest of his life with Anamika and her mother. In the end, Anamika gets a new bodyguard and the film shows her during her swimming practice, with Surya and her new bodyguard 15 years later.

Tags: revenge, flashback

Review:
Black - Waqt - Sarkar - Viruddh Big B has given another dashing performance in this "Ek Ajnabee" I thought plot was wafer thin.
Amitabh has given another good performance, I must say he looked great throughout the movie.
First of all it is a plagiarized movie  from Denzel Washington's "Man on Fire'.
Still, I enjoyed it, but the fact that the movie was so shamelessly copied over from a big Hollywood movie without even a touch of hint of acknowledging that left a really bitter taste in my mouth.The only positive message I want to convey to the entire crew involved in the movie is this: Look, you had a great looking movie in the end, with slick action shots, fantastic characterization, really stylish look and feel for the movie.
But hey, just spend some extra time, effort and money to write a script yourself - and you will have a winner on your hand next time!I rate it 8 out of 10 simply it is a good movie to watch.
All was fine while watching this movie until the small girl jumps into swimming pool, and then encouraged by Bachan to swim and after that, gunfire fear talk...
and figured out after a short thinking that yes, but it was the movie named "Man On Fire" last time I watched it...
Some one said rightly "Nakal ke liyey bi akal ki zaroorat hoti hai" (you need wisdom even to cheat), and of course, if the writer had some sense, he would come up with an original idea in the first place...I have only one request to the movie makers...
Please don't waste money on stealing the scripts and filming them, you can rather dub the movie in Hindi and put some songs at end and it will work just as fine...I hope Mr. Amitab knows the fact that the movie was based on the cheated story line....
Being British, this is my first venture into the world of Indian Cinema, having only seen Hollywood films - I was very impressed.Amitabh Bachchan, was excellent as the tall, detached and imposing Suryaveer Singh, and plays his role with supreme talent.The rest of the cast are also very good, Arjun Rampal brings a young hip character to the screen in his portrayal of Singh's colleague Shekhar.The action scenes are extremely well choreographed, and serve his character well.All in all this film is a great movie in its own right, with an awesome feel and an excellent cast.I give this film 10 out of 10, and I will be certainly purchasing another of Bachchan's films.I really liked this film, and I think for me it shows what Indian Cinema has to offer..
I liked the movie for several reasons - the "Creasy" character (who's name I can't type or pronounce) has awesome screen presence, the Paul Stanley (his buddy) looking guy made an awesome villain at the end, and it managed to be a fierce and powerful thriller without any profanities.Okay, so I did think that Ek Ajnabee was a bit TOO stylized (too many complicated camera edits, over-the-top dialogue, people calmly walking in slow motion away from cars as they explode, the hokey special forces flashback scene and, oh yeah - the bad guys just happen to drive a 1970 Pontiac GTO that wouldn't be very hard to spot in Asia!!), but then again most movies that we are familiar with are too, i.e. the US version of Man On Fire, Catwoman, Armageddon, or any other bug dumb action movie...
I wasn't sure what to think when the movie turned into a music video halfway through, and the coda scene "15 years later", the lead character looks EXACTLY the same and is still wearing the same sunglasses!!!
Notwithstanding the 'Man on Fire' comparisons (or any John Woo similarities), cause that's nothing new to Bollywood, it was directed by a hack & maybe put together by people with skills, but severely lacking any talent.
Every single moment of screen time that wasn't a specific scene with dialogue was filled with the crappiest most dated Indian versions of late 90s Eurobeat.
She could at least act & hopefully she will have escaped any emotional damage that might have occurred after she watched the final product...The most singular worst Bollywood film i've ever attended..
6.9 is pretty good i guess and moreover it is a Big-B movie.So why would i miss it?The premise is good enough..kidnappings.and we have our Big-B or Surya as he is called by the sweet Anamika(the girl in-focus) coming in to action.The first half was very sweet and i enjoyed each and every moment of it,because the interactions between Surya and Anamika were really nicely done.After the shock incident towards the end of the first-half,i was ready for really great action from our Big-B.Even though Surya carries off his 'revenge' in style,his pace is something which could have been improved.I meant the slow-speed at which he uncovers clues and finds out what is actually happening around him.And moreover,when Big-B is ready to blast the villains with a machine gun(oo mama),the camera man tries something different and in the end spoils the fun of watching Big-B pumping bullets...give me a break please!!!Everything is at the same slow pace in the second half till the climax.People are in for a triple-shock...that was the good part of the 2nd half.Otherwise it's a boring affair to watch the last half of Ek Ajnabee...Anamika was really sweet.Though i feel the Anamika in the last scene was an idiotic choice(this Anamika is'nt sweet or cute at all).
Arjun Rampal was apt in his role and flexed his muscles when needed.If the second half had been a bit more crisp(excluding the climax) this movie would have certainly gone places.NOTE:I heard this movie is a rip-off,but that never matters.As Big-B's presence more than makes up for the faults in the movie.Watchable once,certainly..
Both had great actor cast with also good acting, though this one had an other plot twist.Arjun acts natural and convincing, Big B did a good job, it's cinematographicaly beautiful and the song 'ek ajnabee' is a nice addition.
Ek Ajnabee is disappointing, the performances, music, script, and directing were all poor.
The stunts were a good point of the movie, if not the only point.Amitabh Bachchan did a good performance, to an extent.
Perizaad Zorabian, Arjun Rampal, and Kelly Dorjee make forgettable appearances.The music is one of the best things about the film, but there aren't many songs.
And thank god there were no song and dance sequences, they would have looked atrocious.Ek Ajnabee is a film you will regret seeing..
This movie is a scene to scene copy of Denzel Washington's "Man on Fire".
They took the whole movie, added songs to it and a little twist in the end.
Other than that, each scene is a ditto copy of the original movie.
The irony is that Amitabh Bachchan, who plays Denzel's role in this movie, said in a promo that "Please watch this movie on big screen and stop piracy"!
On top of that, the script writer(script translator), claims that he wrote this script two years ago but Amitabh didn't like it, so he added a new twist in the end and then Amitabh agreed to do the movie.
Watch the original movie "Man on Fire".
This film is a complete re-hash on Man On Fire, there are some scenes which are a direct lift from the original.
This is one thing that really annoys me about "Indian Cinema", when over the last year we have seen some original and refreshing films along comes another plagiarised script adapted for the Indian audience.
Directors must realise that the audience too has an intelligence, and must avoid insulting it.However, if we look beyond this the film is very stylishly shot in Bangkok and the pace is fast enough to keep one engaged and sometimes even absorbed.
Another thing is the hip-hop style imitation in music "don't be talking to no, stranger means danger?!" I couldn't help but cringe, sincere attempts to this have been successful for example in junior B's Bluffmaster.If you haven't seen Man on Fire please do watch this primarily for Amitabhs performance, otherwise watch the original..
Ek Ajnabee, is a Straight derivation of "Man on Fire" staring Denzel Washington & directed by Tony Scott (The Fan).
Moreover, 80% of the movie is scene to scene copy of the Hollywood original.
He is amazing and has a massive screen presence.This film shall be liked only by the Hardcore fans of Amitabh.
The various Locations were selected perfectly.But I would say that there were many loose ends even in "Man on Fire" which the director could have corrected in Ek Ajnabee.
to justify further, the film makers make all the Thai Characters half Indian & half Thai Origin !!!
She did a real good act.Finally, This film is worth only seeing Amitabh Bachchan & the Trendy Photography - Fast Pace Editing with a psychedelic Background music score, reason to create a good impact on the audiences.My rating 5/10.
should be made to pay all of the profits to the makers of the original film (Man On Fire) and blacklisted by the Censor Board and all Film Regulatory Boards.Bangkok doesn't compare at all to the settings of Mexico where the number of kidnappings of females of all ages is still at the highest.
Also, no one can match the performance of Dakota Fanning in the original movie.My advice to anyone who is thinking of watching this movie.
"remake" of that film with Amitabh starring as Denzel, but dressed oddly like Tom Cruise from "Collateral".
Even the "revenge" scenarios were copied down to the T.Only the "twist" at the end starring the unnecessary Arjun Rampal character (and co-starring his painted-on tattoos) was original...
Watch the original film, my friends.
When she saw Medea,she envisioned it ended with "and they all went to the beach." Having said that, I obviously did not run out and rent a copy of Man on Fire so as to see the parts I had missed.
Today, I turned on the Zee channel, and Ek Ajnabee was playing,again, half way through the movie.
I know it's not very cerebral,but the acting is believable, the characters are well drawn, I loved the little girl and her mother.
Amitabh Bachchan = Great Star + Consumer Goods !.
It's (Amitabh Bachchan)'s coming back to Action movies after quite an absence, and while he's 63 years old.
Actually the matter of copying the American movies into Hindi ones is old and natural.
Anyway, as for (Bachchan), he did it many times before : 80 % of his (Satte Pe Satta – 1982) was from (Seven Brides For Seven Brothers – 1954), 50 % of (Bade Miyan Chote Miyan – 1998) was from (Bad Boys – 1995), and now 90 % of (Ek Ajnabee – 2005) is from (Man On Fire – 2004).
But the man made 22 movie only between 2005 and 2007 (and these are supposed to be his lackluster years !), so he is a living legend and a cinematic machine, however while movies like (Ek Ajnabee) or (Stranger on Fire !) assured how the big B has to be a consumer goods that must be out there just to be remembered, it assured also how the fans of him mustn't wait much of their living legend!It represents the trade's law of the industry "just make movies", yet with the hastiness of one industry "just steal movies", to an extent of being impudence as you witness for bitter instance at the credits of this movie (Manoj Tyagi) as the writer of it, AND its director (Apoorva Lakhia) as the co-writer !??
Especially in a movie took everything from its unspoken-about original : the characters, the events, the dialogue, even the famous style of direction !
Although I knew all along that I was watching a fast shadow of a movie, and that (Bachchan) is commercially saying : I'm here and capable.
It's the genius unity between the charismatic star and the viewer, which confirmed not only my axiomatic love for (Bachchan) as one of the great cinematic icons, or my history of watching him through memorable flicks since I was a kid, but also that he still has it, and to tell you the truth he misuses it too.
(It's only a cooperating officer who managed to hide all of these GOOD crimes, so Abracadabra and Booph !), and seriously if (Arjun Rampal) had a big hand in it, how he left (Bachchan) slaughtering all of his men like that ?, or how he was helping him out with it ?
(Abhishek Bachchan) as the new bodyguard (soooooo ridiculous even by doing nothing, totally the opposite of his dad), most probably it was mutual favor, as his father appeared in one of his recent movies at the time as a guest star also.
But I missed the dramatic originality, the old Bollywood intensive desire to entertain even by the heavy melodramatic marked way (at least it was their personality), any possible depth, any memorable sequences, or performance more than seeing my star in video clip has all the positive and negative meanings of the word, however here..
This is a total rip-off of Man on Fire, it takes every scene and makes it....crappy!
The role of Arjun Rampal was unnecessary, he doesn't help this film at all and Amitabh Bachan tries to imitate Washington but in my eyes he fails....Not something you expect from Mr. Bachan....The only thing that brings this film up is the action sequences..which are okay and Bachans white suit...very stylish and the song 'Mama told me'...Thats about it...
The first thing that comes to your mind after watching 'Ek Ajnabee' is that what on earth is Amitabh Bachchan doing in this film?
The film is an adaptation (more appropriately, scene to scene copy) of Denzel Washington starrer 'Man on Fire'.
The director Apoorva Lakhia (director Mumbai Se Aaya Mera Dost) also did not forget to add the clichéd Bollywood elements in form of one- two wanton songs, complicated and a senseless climax, though thankfully, there is no model turned actress playing the love-interest in the film.
Collectively actors like Abhishek Bachchan, Lara Dutta and Sanjay Dutt in guest appearances will also not be able to give extra battery life to this film.
High points of the film are fast pace, background music, realistic action sequences and Amitabh Bachchan.
Suryaveer accepts only to find out that it is to protect an 8-year old girl Anamika (Rucha Vaidya), daughter of rich parents played by Perizaad Zorabian and Vikram Chatwal.
A Poor rip off of Denzel Washington's stellar film 'Man on Fire'.
They copied everything from the movie, including casting a saucy little girl to try and imitate Dakota Fanning's acting.
I mean, honestly, the only thing that was original were the forgettable songs in this film.
After plagiarising Bollywood once more, they tried to make this film their own by making the character of Arjun Rampal (the Christopher Walken role from the original film) bad, aging Dakota Fanning's character (who is played by Lara Dutta 15 years later), and bringing on a new bodyguard (played by Abhishek Bachchan).
The only saving grace the director will ever have is if he makes a sequel to Ek Ajnabee, which would star the two new characters they introduced in the end.
The first part of the crime thriller from India - and also a MAN ON FIRE copycat - is absolutely outstanding for the first part, poignant, in the best Bollywood style, but everything collapses in the second part, this time in the worst Bollywood part, I mean a scheme, a style in the pure and worst Hollywood style, with SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS a f...happy ending which makes this feature a pure crap in the overall summary.
Apoorva Lakhia after the fiasco Mumbai Se Aaya Mera Dost(2003) returned with Ek Ajnabee this time with Amitabh Bachchan(though Abhishek and Lara have guest roles).
It's a remake of Denzil Washington's Man On Fire(2004) and almost a complete rip-off.
The film starts off well, the bonding between Rucha Yadav and Amitabh is well handled, The problems of AB is well handled like his alcoholism due to an incident in the past, the kidnapping scene too is well handled The second half gets into an action mode where AB tortures people and chases the wrong doers, treated in a Hollywood fashion at times it doesn't create the desired effect.
Direction by Apoorva is decent especially in the first half Music by VS is good, the songs suit the filmAmitabh Bachchan excels in his role only he could perform Baby Rucha is fantastic after Main Aisa Hi Hoon, Perizaad is great, Vikram Chatwal is alright,Arjun Rampal gets sidelined and his role could be better but he seems confident in his role and helds his own.
Watch it for Amitabh Bachchan's superb performance!.
Ek Ajnabee directed by Apoorva Lakhia and a remake to the Hollywood movie,Man on Fire is an average movie.But what makes this average movie turn to be awesome is the performance of Amitabh Bachchan!
Amitabh Bachchan,after a long time,returns back to screen as the young angry man.It is a pleasure to see him in roles like this!
Surya, who is on his way home to India, cancels his trip, returns and starts asking questions, not knowing that he is going to unearth a web of deceit, lies and deception, which may only end when he uncovers the entire truth or die's trying.The direction is average.The story is copied from Man on Fire.So nothing to talk about it.The music is average.The cinematography is good.The action sequences are very good.The dialogs especially the ones delivered by Amitabh Bachchan are excellent!
Performances:- Amitabh Bachchan steals the show!He is superb.Arjun Rampal is excellent.Vikram Chatwal and Perizaad Zorabian are okay.Ruchi Vaidya is good.Sanjay Dutt,Abhishek Bachchan and Lara Dutta in brief roles are okay.I am giving Ek Ajnabee a six on ten.The six marks are only for Amitabh Bachchan's superb performances!