Remake of the 2012 Tamil super-hit-Thupakki,Holiday has the essential trappings of a commercial potboiler. An interesting premise, lots of action, drama and patriotism -all in abundance. Director A R Murugadoss(Ghajini fame) who also directed the original, shifts his sensibilities to Bollywood and teams up with the ace team of Vipul Shah/Akshay Kumar(who also co-produced the movie)to deliver the rock- solid punch, so much in reverence of the Indian Army.
Holiday inhabits the space that we are flagrantly aware of - the terrorist outfits and the massive havoc they caused in the latest times. It dabbles with 'Sleeper cells' who are the terrorists guised as common men and so much identifiable with the crowd, and insinuates the presence of danger at every step. Now, here is the plot.Capt.Virat Bakshi(Akshay Kumar) who is on a holiday break to meet his family in Mumbai, unearths a sinister plan of a terror outfit after witnessing a bomb-blast in a bus in the heart of the city. Virat, who is also a covert intelligence operative, creates a 12-men army ( as a nod to the film's tag-line, A Soldier is never off duty)with his fellow squadron mates who track down different terrorists set out to implant bombs at different parts of the city and shoot them point-blank. This act of valor agitates the head of the terror group in terrifying proportions and he comes out of his closet to seek vengeance, thus heralding a cat-and-mouse game.
Brimming with testosterone-charged stunt sequences and impressive prod- designs, the screenplay is compelling and keeps you engaged in the mind games of the hero-villain. Murugadoss bases his story on terrorism , yet steers clearly out of unnecessary blood, gore and violence. While an intelligent audience may react with acute strictures at some of the loopholes in the plot, you need to have a suspension of disbelief and approach with a entertainment viewpoint. The narrative suffers occasional lapses with gratuitous song sequences which dilute the underlying tension including a manipulatively staged farewell ode to our army men.This may irk the discerning viewer, but leaves most of us moist-eyed.
Akshay Kumar is in superb form and he literally carries the enterprise on his shoulders. He looks dashing, fits into the uniform and character with consummate ease and takes the action-n-stunts to the next level.Sonakshi has a wonderful comic timing and she complements Akshay in every frame, but sadly her character doesn't cross tracks with the main plot. Sumit Raghavan is endearing as Akshay's friend and his natural performance leaves you in complete awe. Newcomer Farhad(Freddy Daruwala) comes off as a rather wooden antagonist, failing to evoke menacing fear. Cast in a cameo as Akshay's senior, Govinda makes a comeback and his goofy act does provide avenue for occasional laughs.
Combining the sheer energy of Akshay Kumar and sharp intellect of Murugadoss, Holiday guarantees wholesome entertainment and offers full paisa-vasool moments. Not to be missed by action aficionados and Akshay Kumar fans. Take your family along and have a great time !
