Tuesday, 3rd June 01:25 PM IST

HOLIDAY Is Taut Thriller Spoiled By Romantic Track And Overcooked Drama
 

 

Pluses:

 

Akshay Kumar is simply outstanding as secret army agent, Freddy Daruwala presents impactful act, cutting edge direction, thrilling action

 

Minuses:

 

screenplay is complete medley of all cliche elements, too lazy editing, Sonakshi Sinha sleepwalks, romantic angle of lead pair spoils this thriller

 

Critic Rating:

3/5

 

 

Business Rating:

3.5/5

 

 

Verdict:

 

Watch it for some real thrilling moments and Akshay Kumar

 

 

Detailed Analysis:

 

 

A R Murugadoss proved himself with Aamir Khan starrer 'Ghajini' and now he is back with another remake of his south hit. Film has Akshay Kumar instead of Aamir Khan and film looks to give Akshay new lease at box office.

Film starts with introduction of Virat Bakshi (Akshay Kumar) and his senior Pratap (Govinda) from India Army. Virat is suppose to find girl for marriage and he lands up at house of Saiba (Sonakshi Sinha). But he finds her very traditional and naive. He rejects her marriage proposal over phone call but then he falls in love with her during a boxing tournament when he sees real outgoing adventurous personality of Saiba. Virat is part of DIA, a secret wing of Indian army. While traveling on bus, Virat encounters a terrorist of sleeper cell and from here starts a journey of exposing and finishing of sleeper cell network in India by Virat. This thrilling battle brings the best out of Virat.

Performance wise, Akshay Kumar is simply outstanding and after long time he delivers a performance with utmost power and punch. Watch out for climax when he says, 'tu suspense mein hi mar'. His intense and ruthless style makes this is his one of the best performances. Sonakshi Sinha is big letdown and she is completely sleepwalking in this unnecessary role. Sumeet Raghvan is funny as always. Freddy Daruwala is good but suffers from hangover of Vidyut Jamwal. But Govinda shines in special appearance. His comic timings is still intact and he leaves you wanting for more.

Editing is big mess, film is at least 25 minutes too long and 2 hour 40 minutes seems like 3 hour 40 minutes. Why every Akshay Kumar film has to possess romantic track when it is not needed at all. 'Special 26' had still brief romantic angle but here its completely like 70's of Bollywood where this track does not add anything to the film except boring music and fizzling chemistry of lead pair. Background score is superb and actions are top notch. Not a single song is worth suffering in middle of such a taut thriller. Story is engaging but meandering screenplay does not help.

But yes its director A R Murugadoss who delivers another good film with noble intentions of highlighting pain, agony and sacrifices of Indian Army. He also weaves a tight thriller but sadly he bows down to commercial stereotypes which drag the film and what a drag. It could have been the one of the best thrillers but it falls short.

Film will release on 6th June and should get big release across 3500 screens. Film will get moderate competition from Hollywood release 'Edge Of Tomorrow'. Film should open with big initials due to big star cast and dull period at box office. Film is made on big budget and sold for almost 52 cr all India distributor price and that is why huge box office numbers in excess of 104 cr nett needed to take it to at least break even zone. Just for sake of honesty of Akshay Kumar's performance,  we hope that this turns out to be a hit!

Go for this one to witness a complete entertainer from Khiladi Kumar!