Rajkumar Santoshi, one of Bollywood's most versatile directors, is ready with his latest action film, "Family - Ties Of Blood" starring Amitabh Bachchan and Akshay Kumar.

Santoshi's second film with Bachchan after the critically acclaimed multistarrer cop drama "Khakee" releases this Friday.

"Family" brings together Bachchan and Akshay Kumar for the seventh time. They appeared together in - "Ek Rishta", "Aankhen", "Khakee", "Ab Tumhare Hawale Watan Sathiyo", "Khakee" and "Waqt: Race Against Time".

The director has not given any mega hit in recent times and is banking upon Bachchan to bail him out.

"Family" is an underworld drama laced with emotions and is said to be one of the most exhilarating thrillers of the year. It has Bachchan playing a cynical gangster and Akshay Kumar a chef with his own catering van. The story revolves around them and their families who live side by side.

The story goes like this -

Amitabh Bachchan is Viren Sahai, a suave, sophisticated and ruthless underworld kingpin aware of the power of money and might and also knows how to maximise both. At the same time he values his family and can go to any length to protect it.

But his wife Sharda, played by Shernaz Patel, is a simple woman who abhors her husband's involvement with crime. She fears her family will have to pay for her husband's sins.

Their son Abhir, played by Sushant Singh, is a spoilt brat and misuses his father's wealth and power. He indulges in the most heinous of crimes, confident that his influential father will save him. Unlike his father, he doesn't care for his family.

Then there is another family headed by Shekhar Bhatia, played by Akshay Kumar. In contrast to Viren Sahai, Shekhar is a simple, hard working and sentimental man who runs his catering business and lives happily with his younger brother Aryan (Aryeman) and wife Dr. Kavita (Bhumika Chawla). Unlike Sahai, he has nothing to do with crime or underworld dons.

He dotes on his brother and will do anything for his happiness.

One fateful night both the families collide with catastrophic consequences. What ensues is a bloody battle between the two families where the unwritten rule is that the loyalty of the family comes before anything and everything else.

Jointly produced by Keshu Ramsay and AB Corp Ltd the film marks the entry of Keshu Ramsay's son Aryeman as actor.

Will "Family - Ties of Blood", one of the most eagerly awaited films of 2006, be able to bond with the box office and appeal to audiences bored with run-of-the-mill fare!