Ek: The Power of One is a remake of the Telugu film, Athadu, starring Mahesh Babu and Prakash Raj. But after watching it, one immediately thinks of films like the Dev Anand-starrer Bambai Ka Babu and the Rajesh Khanna-starrer Dushmun. Ek's storyline is very similar to those vintage movies.
Ek revolves around two friends who join Jackie Shroff's gang very young. While Nandu (Bobby Deol) is a sharp shooter, his partner-in-crime Shekhar (Pradeep Kharab) charts a plan to leave the gang. When Jackie's character gets imprisoned, the friends branch off on their own.
Meanwhile, politician Anna Mhatre (Sachin Khedekar) is hatching a plot to get himself shot, and hires Nandu for the job. Anna hopes to gain public sympathy and votes so that he can win the election.
But Nandu doesn't get to shoot him. Someone gets to Anna first, and kills him. Nandu is blamed for the murder. How he clears his name and stay alive forms the rest of the film.
Ek is a full-on masala film, which may have been a hit in the 1970s. However, it is way too outdated in today's times.
After so many years of acting, Bobby Deol, alas, still looks wooden.
The audience loves Nana Patekar, and he is welcomed on screen with whistles. Nana is supposed to provide comic relief, but disgusts with his performance, and double-meaning dialogues.
Shriya Saran does not have anything to do. Her romance with Bobby is barely shown. The other actors -- Chunkey Pandey, Zarina Wahab and Sachin Khedekar -- are wasted. The lousy music lowers the film's standard even more. Give Ek a miss.
Rediff Rating: