After directing Abhishek Bachchan in "Mumbai Se Aaya Mera Dost", young filmmaker Apoorva Lakhia is gearing to direct the Big B for his next thriller "Ek Ajnabee".

"The film is based loosely on the Hollywood film 'Man On Fire'. Bachchan plays Denzel Washington's role," tells Lakhia, who is currently location - hunting for the movie in Bangkok.

Child actor Ruchi plays the kidnapped girl (the role of Dakota Fanning in the original). That movie revolved around the abduction of the nine-year-old daughter of rich parents and her bodyguard's search for her.

Why an unoriginal film after the excessively original "Mumbai Se Aaya Mera Dost"? "I had a couple of original scripts. But I was warned not to (taken them up)," he explained.

"Mumbai se...", starring the Bachchan junior and former Miss Universe Lara Dutta, had fared badly at the box-office.

"The important thing for me is to find a foothold in the industry, which I hopefully will, after 'Ek Ajnabee'. Besides Bachchan and Ruchi, I've got a wonderful cast. Arjun Rampal, Perizad Zorabian, Vikram Chatwal play very important roles," he said.

According to him, the film gives Bachchan an entirely new, trendy look "which would remind audiences of his cool chic appearance in his heydays.

"It's a start-to-finish quickie. We start shooting in Bangkok May 20 and finish June 23," he said.