To rely on the story is a dangerous game in filmmaking but likes of Ram Gopal Verma have done it well. Even the biggest filmmaker, when relying exceedingly on stars carrying the movie, are bound to eat the dust some day. It's happened to Raj Kapoor and down to the last showman Subhash Ghai.

Suparn Verma belongs to the lot of star-awed filmmakers. His slick and edge of the seat thriller 'Ek Khiladi Ek Haseena' gave a new life to a top 5 star of today, Saif Ali Khan.

Saif may not have found time to work with Suparn again. But the fact is that Suparn's debut film as a director opened a window for filmmakers to take some misfits and a good story and rake in money at box office.

Suparn tries the same formula again, this time with an ensemble cast of which most are on the sidelines of the glam world. A good story and some stars with ready-to-give-it-back feeling always make an energetic combination to crack the box office code.

The director has belief in his story line and the actors have belief in their delivery. Suparn Verma manages to pass the litmus test once again as Director with his formula.Like his other work, as storywriter and screenplay writer, 'Acid Factory' relies heavily on western style filmmaking.

People already liken Suparn's style to Hollywood filmmaking where formula and not creativity take precedence. The bottom line is to satisfy your viewers. Suparn and 'Acid Factory' do that for a particular audience!

'Acid Factory' does have a somewhat confusing storyline. An Indian commoner who does not read novels of Ayn Rand or Mario Puzo may find it difficult to keep track of sequences and chain of events. A group of people finding themselves in an 'Acid Factory' and not able to remember where they have come from, makes a good plot to start with.

The character establishment work take a dragging trail but once it unfolds and people get going, the film again gathers momentum.

As a Director, Suparn Verma does do well. 'Acid Factory' may not be as engrossing as his last 'Ek Khiladi EK Haseena' but theme of the film is far better than his last films as writer i.e. 'Ugly Aur Pagli', 'Karma', 'Janasheen' and other. In Sanjay Gupta, Suparn finds a producer with common likes and the two team up well to deliver a glossy thriller that will be liked by the urbane audience much.

Among actors, Danny comes back as a surprise factor after 'Chamku'. His presence lifts the screen to a new level; he is one of the few stars of bygone era with an aura that separates a common actor from a star in the viewers' mind.

Manoj Bajpai and Irfaan Khan come second on the performance rankings. While Irfaan has now started to just repeat himself again and again (though still liked by viewers), Manoj Bajpai has learned lessons from his failures and is trying to keep the histrionics away.

Aftab Shivdasani and Fardeen Khan try hard to match their best abilities to those of the other fine actors in the movie. Neha Dhupia is taken over by Dia Mirza completely, among females, with the latter trying to prove a point that she is still around and not faded in the history.

Suparn also gets good help from his technicians, especially his cinematographer and stunt director. The film's looks are rich and the film has all the ingredients to click with multiplex audience. This may help in getting business in metros but it may also harm its prospects in semi urban areas and small towns.