Amitabh Bachchan starrer "Ek Ajnabee" releasing Dec 9 has evoked great interest following his sudden illness.

Yash Raj Films' romantic flick "Neal 'n' Nikki", starring Uday Chopra and Tanisha Mukerji, is also hitting the screen same day, but Bachchan's illness has boosted his film's chances and is likely to get a better response at the box office.

Action films have been Bachchan's forte and director Apoorva Lakhiya is trying to cash in on his angry young man image in this crime-drama - a Hindi version of Hollywood flick "Man On Fire".

This is the story of Suryaveer Singh (Amitabh Bachchan), a former black commando in the army who loses interest in life after his stint in military. His life changes when he meets an eight-year-old girl Anamika (Baby Rucha Vaidya) whose father Ravi (Vikram Chatwal) hires him to protect her from being kidnapped.

He keeps a constant vigil on the child, in vain. Anamika is kidnapped and Suryaveer is critically injured by the kidnappers.

Anamika's father realises that no money is enough to save his daughter. Her helpless mother Nikasha (Perizaad Zorabian) hopes that her prayers will somehow be answered.

Only Suryaveer can help them because he knows something that they don't and because he possesses the expertise to bring the little girl back.

With tenacity and wisdom, he pieces together random clues and unravels the kidnapping conspiracy. His friend Shekhar (Arjun Rampal) helps him to accomplish his mission.

The film's success hinges on Bachchan's magic who has had a quite a few recent box office hits to his credit. To name a few - "Bunty Aur Babli", "Waqt: The Race Against Time", "Black", "Sarkar" and "Paheli".

Abhishek Bachchan and Lara Dutta, who played main leads in Lakhiya's directorial debut "Mumbai Se Aaya Mera Dost", would make a fleeting appearance in the film, while Sanjay Dutt will be seen in a rap number. Lara's boyfriend Kelly Dorjee is also the part of the ensemble.

Produced by Bunty Walia and Jaspreet Singh Walia of GS Entertainment, "Ek Ajnabee" has an item number shot on Arjun Rampal.

Lakhiya's directorial debut was a complete washout, but his second film, shot mostly in Thailand, seems to have the right ingredients to douse the audience's appetite.

One hopes he hits the bull's eye with this film.