Sangeeth Sivan says his Ek - The Power of One, starring Nana Patekar and Bobby Deol, is a raw action film like blockbuster Ghajini and he is confident it will do well. The film has Bobby jumping down 14 stories in a stunt scene.
"The biggest common factor between Ek and Ghajini is the raw action that fills the narrative," said Sivan.
"We have seen it working in a big way in Ghajini where the audiences thoroughly enjoyed all the action happening on screen. If they loved it there, they will love it in Ek as well, which again follows a similar raw action approach." The film releases March 27.
Sivan isn't new to the action genre. More than a decade ago, he had made the Sunny Deol starrer Zor [1998]. He moved to comedy with twin success of Kya Kool Hain Hum [2003] and Apna Sapna Money Money [2005].
He also insists that the out and out commercial appeal of the two films binds them together.
"Ghajini is a hard core commercial film with all commercial ingredients in place and a great actor (Aamir Khan) leading it. Ek too is on similar lines. It is an out and out commercial with great action and wonderful performances by the lead pair of Nana and Bobby," says Sivan. He plans to work with Bobby again, along with Dharmendra, in a film titled Cheers - Celebrate Life.
With the Ghajini comparison coming in, isn't he worried about the audience's expectations? After all, the film has been the biggest money-spinner of all times and anything else has to be exceptional to come close to it.
"I am talking about the film's genre and treatment here," says Sivan. "For me, in its true spirit, Ek is best described as Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge meeting Die Hard. So while the backdrop is that of sarson ke khet (mustard fields) in a Punjabi milieu, the action is stylised in a manner similar to that of Die Hard with a raw power a la Ghajini.
"You will experience a lethal mix of romance along with adrenalin rush as the narrative unfolds."
The film sees Bobby Deol doing all his action sequences, some of which required dare devil stunts. One sequence even required him to jump from 14 floors.
"I was worried about his safety but Bobby was convinced that he could do it," remembers Sangeeth. "The sequence was shot in Kandivali where a political rally comprising 2,000 people was being taken out. For the scene Bobby was required to jump 14 stories but he didn't hesitate even one bit and gave such an unbelievable shot for it."
Starring Shreya Saran as the leading lady opposite Bobby Deol, Ek has music by Pritam. With Sivan's claim of Ek being as powerful as Ghajini, the film may just be worth a dekko at the theatres.