by Subhash K Jha
People could not believe their eyes as megastar Amitabh Bachchan, celebrating his 64th birthday Tuesday, got into stunt acts for his ongoing film 'Ek Ajnabee'.

Apoorva Lakhia can't believe what he saw. "My leading man Mr Bachchan did all the action scenes in my film Ek Ajnabee on his own... no body double, no short cuts, just the actor and the danger zone, which he adopted unhesitatingly."

From the sneak previews of Ek Ajnabee, one thing emerges with stunning certainty: AB Sr has done some of his most daring action scenes since that career-making bone-cruncher Zanjeer 32 years ago.

How did he do it? "I don't know," the disarmed director barely seems to believe what he saw. "Bachchan Saab refused to let anyone else do the action for him. Keeping his unbelievable energy- level even at his age in mind, we nevertheless took all precautions. For instance I'd shoot early morning with other members of the cast. Only then would Bachchan Saab arrive on location all charged and raring to go. After that there was no stopping him."

Lakhia reiterates that these are no ordinary stunts. "The action scenes aren't your stylized bone-crunching choreographed pieces of fast-moving frames. These are all John Woo kind of action scenes done to highlight the survival instinct rather than macho aggression. This is a man who has to fight back to preserve his life. One thing I was sure of....I had to make my hero look exceptionally heroic. I mean, you can't have Bachchan Saab as anything but larger-than-life. For me Khakee was over when a subordinate slapped the super-cop. Come on, no one slaps Bachchan Saab and gets away with it!"

Speaking of his incredible stunts in Ek Ajnabee, Mr Bachchan, says, "It's nothing, really. It's the unique presentation that makes me look good in the action scenes. Why did I dare do them? That's a funny question! Why do I act? Why do I breathe?"

And for those who are wondering where the awesome reserves of energy come from wonder some more: AB Sr was in Jaipur on Thursday frantically trying to finish the shooting of Vinod Chopra's Eklavya He shot through the night of Oct. 5 till 5 a.m. He then shot through most of the day and then all night and flew back to Mumbai on the morning of Oct 7, before flying again a couple of days later to join Karan Johar's unit of Kabhi Alvidaa Na Kehna.

Now are you still wondering how AB managed those heart-in-the-mouth stunts in Ek Ajnabee?