***Holiday Movie Reviews ***

By Taran Adarsh, 4 Jun 2014, 08:26 hrs IST
Rating: 4 | Akshay Kumar returns to the silver screen after a hiatus. Known for having a film release every few months, this move has, expectedly, garnered positive reception by the film fraternity as well as the multitude of fans. In his newest outing HOLIDAY - A SOLDIER IS NEVER OFF DUTY, the actor teams up with A.R. Murugadoss, who made his Hindi debut with GHAJINI [2008], starring Aamir Khan. Incidentally, Murugadoss too returns to the Hindi film arena after a gap of almost six years.

HOLIDAY - A SOLDIER IS NEVER OFF DUTY is a remake of the Tamil action-thriller THUPPAKKI [2012; starring Vijay and Kajal Aggarwal], which won immense critical acclaim and reaped a rich harvest at the box-office. Obviously, the expectations are humungous since Murugadoss' GHAJINI was the *first Hindi film* to waltz past the Rs 100 cr mark in the domestic market. Besides, THUPPAKKI has been a Blockbuster and one expects the Hindi adaptation to repeat history.

When one attempts to remake South Indian hits in Hindi, one makes modifications to suit the Northern sensibilities, which only enhances the project in question. Murugadoss does exactly that in HOLIDAY - A SOLDIER IS NEVER OFF DUTY. THUPPAKKI was a hugely admired and engrossing entertainer and evidently ranks amongst Murugadoss' finest works. Does the able craftsman deliver a far superior product in HOLIDAY - A SOLDIER IS NEVER OFF DUTY? Does Akshay slip into Vijay's shoes with as much ease? Is the new antagonist Farhad as merciless and cold-blooded as the original baddie Vidyut Jammwal? Most importantly, does Murugadoss take a leap forward as he recreates his bonafide Hit?

Let's shed light on the premise! Captain Virat Bakshi [Akshay Kumar], an army man, returns home to Mumbai for his holidays. His family takes him to see Sahiba [Sonakshi Sinha], but he rejects her. Later, on another occasion, he finds out that she is actually a boxer and is surprised by her personality. The story takes a turn when an anti-social activity in the heart of Mumbai city gets him involved into something huge.

Being a patriot and a special agent in the Indian Army, Virat is dragged into a huge network of terrorism. The rest of the story is about his fight against the terrorist network and the eradication of the sleeper cells from the city.

Let's not confuse HOLIDAY - A SOLDIER IS NEVER OFF DUTY with atypical Akshay Kumar film that tilts heavily towards humor or has an uninterrupted flow of gags. This one tackles a serious issue -- terrorism -- and how a lone soldier sets out to annihilate the sleeper cells that are out to create mayhem in Mumbai. Sure, a number of films focusing on terrorism have made it to the big screen, especially post 9/11, but Murugadoss marries the serious issue and good old romance [Akshay-Sonakshi] most effortlessly. Of course, much like the original source, HOLIDAY - A SOLDIER IS NEVER OFF DUTY veers towards the clash between a soldier and the terror forces, but the storyteller, who's eyeing the pan-India audience, makes sure he gives the masala movie lovers something more than that.

Additionally, in a majority of entertainers, the screenplay takes a backseat, while the star power takes precedence. HOLIDAY - A SOLDIER IS NEVER OFF DUTY comes across as an exception because the smartly-packaged fare never loses focus from its core issue [the fight between an army man and terrorists], with the post-interval portions diversifying into race-against-time thriller mode. Also, Murugadoss employs the right tricks to woo the entertainment-seeking spectator -- abundant turns in the screenplay, the face off between good and evil, the hand-to-hand combat, the subtle humor, the nail-biting finale et al -- but at the end of the day, the message that the film communicates resonates loud and clear.

Expertly filmed and edited [Amitabh Shukla], the sole hiccup is that the romantic portions could've been short-n-snappy. The club song in the second hour appears forced. Besides, though the makers employ Pritam to belt out chartbusting melodies, the soundtrack is plain ordinary. But these are minor hiccups in an otherwise slick film that gets so many things right.

N. Nataraja Subramanian's camera gives the film scale, while the action sequences [Greg Powell, Anl Arasu] are raw, gritty and appealing.

Murugadoss abstains from casting over-familiar faces for pivotal characters, choosing actors who aren't known for featuring in Akshay starrers [except Sonakshi]. Govinda is restrained in a cameo. Sonakshi Sinha is effervescent and contributes in making the proceedings lively. Sumeet Raghavan is wonderful, absolutely in sync with his character. Farhad [aka Freddy Daruwala] is impactful as the antagonist. He has good screen presence and handles his part with conviction. Zakir Hussain effectively portrays the same part that he essayed in the original.

The scene-stealer is, without doubt, Akshay Kumar, who reinvents himself with this one. The actor has acted in every possible genre and though the cynics may argue that Akshay keeps repeating himself in film after film, I'd like to remind them of his nuanced act in SPECIAL 26 and now HOLIDAY - A SOLDIER IS NEVER OFF DUTY. It's a power-packed portrayal, which the actor illustrates with complete understanding, without going overboard. This is Akshay's show unquestionably!

On the whole, HOLIDAY - A SOLDIER IS NEVER OFF DUTY is a slick action-thriller that keeps you engrossed, enthralled and captivated all through, thanks to its fascinating premise and a watertight, razor-sharp screenplay. Go for it!

Let me stick my neck out just this once to say "Holiday - A Soldier Is Never Off Duty" is going to be a huge success. It has all the trappings of a superlative masala entertainer, plus a thought provoking message on the uneasy relationship between the army and civilians.

Hence army man Virat Bakshi (Akshay Kumar, in top form) who is home for a vacation uses the time to fall in love with an arranged match and also save Mumbai from a sleeper cell terrorist attack, which threatens to plunder the city.

He is a busy man. So is director A.R. Murugadoss. They both are on the same mission. While Akshay saves the city, his director rescues the masala fare from the blemishes of blandness that it has acquired lately.

Just how Murugadoss manages to mix the dark theme of terrorism with a palatable mainstream cinematic platter served with dollops of pickles and 'papad' is a marvel.

The director's earlier film "Ghajini" was another landmark of mainstream filmmaking. It suffered from excessive violence and too many resemblances to a Hollywood film ("Memento") to be dismissed as coincidental.

In "Holiday", Murugadoss is more in charge of the proceedings. Having Akshay at the helm helps. He is a man of the streets and yet capable of looking completely convincing as a larger than life hero. This is Akshay's most chiselled and restrained yet boisterous and exuberant performance to date.

It's just as hard to imagine "Holiday" without Akshay as it is to imagine last week's elegiac and thoughtful "Citylights" without Rajkummar Rao.

They both breathe life into their characters from different respiratory systems.

We often tend to think the grammar and language of mainstream cinema to be far easier to convey than the language of the so-called serious cinema.

Wrong! A full-on massy product, which doesn't resort to outlandish inanities or outright vulgarity, is the most difficult form of filmmaking. In "Holiday", Murugadoss has some absolutely unflinching support from his writers and technicians, all out to create that increasingly elusive cinematic entity .

The perfect entertainer.

Not that "Holiday" is not without its flaws. What would life in the movies be without those?

Sonakshi Sinha's role and presence in the plot can at best be termed as comic relief. She is less diva, more Mehmood. It is interesting to see how the director weaves the romantic element into what is predominantly a rugged man-to-man confrontation between an armyman on leave and a super-intelligent terrorist, who is seen to work out not from a dingy warehouse, but a normal home teeming with the scents and images of domestic harmony.

Full marks to the film's art and costumes designer. Apart from Sonakshi everyone looks at home.

The irony of terror in the climate of normalcy is chilling. And it's a master stroke to cast the unknown Freddy Daruwala as the terrorist mastermind.

Freddy looks and behaves like a hi-tech executive in a multinational rather than a diabolic terrorist. It's in the flashes of arrogant megalomania or his chilling cold-blooded laughter that we see the devilish man behind the white collar mask.

Freddy is quite the discovery of the year. As is the tradition in Good Versus Evil sagas, Akshay and Freddy don't come face-to-face until the finale. When they do...boom! Boy oh boy, the climactic one-to-one fistfight between Akshay and Freddy is so heart-in-the-mouth that audiences will forget to breathe for a good 15 minutes.

This film rarely gives you time to come up for air. "Holiday" is that rare masala entertainer that leaves you breathless with excitement.

The writing is so skilled and the interweavement of the terrorist theme into the larger plot of an army man's vacation gone awry is so astute, that you end up excusing and overlooking the excesses. Govinda, for one, as Akshay's numb-skulled superior is completely out of place. You wish Govinda and Sonakshi's annoying characters would be expelled from the storytelling by some computer-generated magic.

The ever dependable Sumeet Raghavan as Akshay's pal and colleague in counter-terrorism is able to make a much better place for himself. But it's the Akshay-Freddy conflict that keeps you riveted for nearly three hours of this pitch-perfect film's playing time.

Some episodes such as the one where Akshay's character collects his army pals at a church wedding for a "game" across Mumbai that saves the city from a terror disaster are so ingeniously implanted into the kinetic plot that you wonder which came first - the scourge of terrorism or the cinema that takes terror to the level of high entertainment.

Yup. The potent Akshay-Vipul Shah team is back with its most lethal entertainter to date.

"Holiday" is a fast-paced, exhilarating rollercoaster ride filled with the most unexpected twists and turns.

The anxious narrative is nourished by some spot-on background music which punctuates and pins down the heart-stopping action.

A. Natarajan Subramaniam's cinematography takes the edgy proceedings to another level altogether. The fidgety images are framed traditionally in every shot, and yet they are able to furnish a renewed vigour to the goings-on.

This, then, is that entertainer which tells you that cinema about terrorism need not be dark and grim. Murugadoss keeps the going light-hearted and yet the undercurrents of tension jump out of the screen to relentlessly claim our attention.

Akshay's character's basic argument that terrorism can only be countered when the counter-terrorists are as fearless about losing their lives as the terrorists, is put forward with such gusto and conviction, we really can't argue with the plot premise.

So here's your chance to go with the ferocious flow and not regret it for even a minute. Yes, the songs are like sleeping dogs that come awake at inopportune times to yelp out their melody-less messages. But the last farewell song, an ode to the dedication and sacrifices of Indian soldiers, will leave you moist eyed.

This is Akshay's most engaging entertainer in recent times.

The scene-stealer is, without doubt, Akshay Kumar, who reinvents himself with this one. The actor has acted in every possible genre and though the cynics may argue that Akshay keeps repeating himself in film after film, I'd like to remind them of his nuanced act in SPECIAL 26 and now HOLIDAY - A SOLDIER IS NEVER OFF DUTY. It's a power-packed portrayal, which the actor illustrates with complete understanding, without going overboard. This is Akshay's show unquestionably!

Rating:4/5 Review By:Taran Adarsh Site:Bollywood Hungama

On the whole, HOLIDAY - A SOLDIER IS NEVER OFF DUTY is a slick action-thriller that keeps you engrossed, enthralled and captivated all through, thanks to its fascinating premise and a watertight, razor-sharp screenplay. Go for it!

Rating:4.5/5 Review By:Subhash K Jha Site:IANS

Akshay's character's basic argument that terrorism can only be countered when the counter-terrorists are as fearless about losing their lives as the terrorists, is put forward with such gusto and conviction, we really can't argue with the plot premise. So here's your chance to go with the ferocious flow and not regret it for even a minute. Yes, the songs are like sleeping dogs that come awake at inopportune times to yelp out their melody-less messages. But the last farewell song, an ode to the dedication and sacrifices of Indian soldiers, will leave you moist eyed. This is Akshay's most engaging entertainer in recent times.

Rating:4/5 Review By:Nandhini Srinivasan Site:One India Entertainment

Let's not confuse HOLIDAY - A SOLDIER IS NEVER OFF DUTY with a typical Akshay Kumar film that tilts heavily towards humor and has an uninterrupted flow of gags. This one tackles serious issue -- terrorism -- and how a lone soldier sets out to annihilate the sleeper cells that are out to create mayhem in Mumbai. Sure, a number of films focusing on terrorism have made it to the big screen, especially post 9/11, but Murugadoss marries the serious issue and good old romance (Akshay-Sonakshi) most effortlessly. Of course, much like the original source, HOLIDAY - A SOLDIER IS NEVER OFF DUTY veers towards the clash between a soldier and the terror forces, but the storyteller, who's eyeing the pan-India audience, makes sure he gives the masala movie lovers something more than that.

Good luck to Akki and the HOLIDAY team⭐️...Go Akki...faad de sabki

Originally posted by: K.Sean

^ ALL the reviews for now have been positive BIji.. yaays 🥳

I don't trust Taran Adarsh and Sanjay Jha..

Pretty sure these 2 are paid reviews lol. Although I'm happy for Akshay if this move works