John, Lara's bike stunts!

If the promos are any indicator, Vikram Bhatt's new film, Elaan is nothing but old wine in a new bottle and a newer package! And topping the list of new items in the package is the return of Mithun Chakraborty in a negative role.

Tell this to the disco king of the 1980s, and he'll counter your point. "Don't call this my comeback. I had never gone anywhere! Yes, I'm doing a movie after almost two years. But that is because I was tired of doing similar roles and wanted to do something different. When Vikram offered me this role, I couldn't say no."

Mithun plays Baba Sikandar who dabbles in everything illegal. As the promos say, terrorism is his profession and extortion his hobby! He specialises in escaping the long arm of the law by fleeing to countries with which India doesn't have an extradition treaty.

"The role I am playing is not that of a typical Bollywood villain who smokes, drinks and visits dance bars. It is different and that is why I agreed to it," says Chakraborty.

Adds Vikram Bhatt, "Mithun will be doing something he has never done before! And it is a high point of the film."

Elaan has another first -- Rahul Khanna will star in his first action movie! Before this film, the actor was largely seen in crossover films like Deepa Mehta's 1947 Earth and Bollywood/Hollywood.

"I always nurtured the desire to do a Bollywood action film. Vikram is one of my favourite directors. So when I heard the script, I liked it and said yes immediately. Plus, since this is a Venus production, I knew there would be a stamp of quality attached to it. It is a reputed production house with an impeccable track record," he explains.

Elaan attempts to tackle the contemporary issue of extortion. Says producer Ratan Jain, "The film carries a message -- don't pay ransom -- no matter what the odds are. It is always possible to bring the criminal to justice."

The film's hero (played by Rahul) does precisely that, and brings Baba Sikandar back to India.

More than the storyline, the movie offers beautiful locales and stunning action scenes by Abbas Ali Moghul.

"We shot most of the film in Europe. December is anything but pleasant there with temperatures touching –40 degrees Celsius! We had to really struggle. It was not just the warm interiors of five star hotels. We had to work in the snowy mountains and that too with wind chill! It was teamwork. All of us got along well. Since most of us are from the same age group, we had a lot of fun. I am happy that Elaan has turned out to be a slick, fast action film."

The film also stars John Abraham, Arjun Rampal, Amisha Patel and Lara Dutta. The music is scored by Anu Malik.

Lara, who plays a bar dancer, elaborates, "Amisha and I have done the stunts ourselves without using doubles! Things became so realistic that, after a point, we had to pop painkillers to report for shooting the following day. One has to be very careful and focused while doing stunts. And, if you consider the fact that a number of scenes were shot in sub-zero temperatures, you will know how difficult it was for us."

Elaan has a much-hyped bike chase sequence in the European mountains, with John and Lara. Ask John about this, and you cannot miss the sparkle in his eye. "I am passionate about bikes," the actor, who charmed audiences with his bad boy act in Yash Chopra's Dhoom, says. "I consider it a privilege to do such scenes. And it is even better when somebody is paying me to do what I like! The bike chase scene that Lara and I did in Elaan is spectacular. Yes, there is a risk element associated with such shots. But when the audience sees that John Abraham has not used a double and has done the scene himself, the impact is better. Though directors keep reminding me that I am the hero and not a stuntman, I feel taking calculated risks is not harmful."

How did Lara feel while shooting this risky scene? "Though it was extremely cold, we had to wear just jeans and a T-shirt," she says. "The wind chill factor was so high that John's fingers became numb and he was almost unable to shift gears! It took us 10 days to complete the scene. I don't think I would have done it if it was not for John!"