HOLIDAY MOVIE REVIEW

A.R.Murugadoss’ second Hindi film, Holiday is a faithful remake of his Tamil blockbuster Thuppakki which had Vijay in the lead. The film is about an army man who comes home to Mumbai for his yearly vacation and springs to action when he finds out that ‘sleeper cells’ are out to spread widespread terror in the city.

The film is a typical ‘star vehicle’ where the male lead is all-conquering and flaunts his brain and brawn in equal measure. Akshay Kumar fits into Vijay’s shoes without any hiccups and he seems to be tailormade to play the role of a dynamic young army man. He is a delight to watch in the numerous action sequences and also shows his fluid dance moves. He could have sported a ‘crew cut’ though.
 

Sonakshi Sinha has nothing much to do in a movie where the hero’s mission is the prime focal point but she is nevertheless glowing and beautiful in all her scenes and songs. For those who have seen the Tamil version, reliving the romance and comedy scenes again would be a bit of a strain as the director hasn’t made any changes in this part. To his credit, he has done away with a couple of needless song sequences in the first half and could have done the same to the ‘Shayrana’ track before the climax as well.
 

Pritam has done a great job in all the 4 songs, with the end credits track ‘Ashq Na Ho’ rendered by the brilliant Arijit Singh being a really emotional and moving experience. It sure is a candidate for ‘song of the year’. ‘Tu Hi To Hai’ and ‘Blame the Night’ are enjoyable and groovy numbers where the lead pair’s energy stands out.
 

A grand action movie like Holiday required a really pulsating BGM score but that is lacking in the movie and the background score pales more so in comparison with the original. The modified version of the popular Thuppakki title track is a blatant but average attempt at matching up to the original’s score by Harris Jayaraj.

Freddy Daruwala as the leader of the 'sleeper cells' acquits himself well, but one wished Vidyut Jamwal had reprised his role from the original, as such was the impact that he created.

Sumeet Raghavan as the hero’s police friend is adorable and makes a solid mark with his comments and reactions. Govinda’s cameo is a crowd pleaser and the veteran has a couple of moments to steal.

The movie’s screenplay is packed with some magical scenes such as the 12 at a time shootout before the interval, the scene at the terrace and the hair-rising action sequence with the sniffer dog in the 2^nd half. The little back-story given to the dog is an example of Murugadoss’ intelligence. The over-the-top climax fight scene at the ship is purely targeted at Akshay’s mass fan following and they are bound to enjoy it.

To sum up, Holiday looks and feels like Thuppakki with just a few minor changes. For those who have seen the original, the remake would still entertain while for the uninitiated; Holiday ought to be an intelligent commercial action flick.