Holiday: A Soldier Is Never Off Duty is a 2014 Indian Hindi-language action thriller film written and directed by A. R. Murugadoss, starring Akshay Kumar as an army officer. It also stars Sonakshi Sinha, Freddy Daruwala, Sumeet Raghavan and Govinda in a special appearance. It is an official remake of Murugadoss' own 2012 Tamil film Thuppakki and follows an Indian Army officer who arrives in Mumbai on vacation and sets out to hunt down the terrorist leader of a sleeper cell network and deactivate the sleeper cells operating under his command.
Kumar revealed that the story was signed by his Hari Om Entertainment after listening the first action sequence of the film by Murugadoss even before the script was fully written. He let Murugadoss to make the film in Tamil due to his dates issues, which later became Thuppakki.[2] Although film's production commenced in 2013 with the working title of Pistol under the banner of Hari Om Entertainment and Sunshine Pictures.
Virat Bakshi, Captain in DIA, a secret wing of Indian Army, returns to his home in Mumbai on a holiday. On his arrival, his parents rush him to see Saiba Thapar, who they wanted him to marry. But Virat rejects her with an excuse that she is old fashioned and not his type. On the contrary, Saiba is a professional boxer, and is completely modern in her outlook. Virat notices her in a boxing match and falls in love with her instantly.
One day, while travelling in a bus with his friend, Sub-Inspector Mukund "Makhiya" Deshmukh, Virat, while chasing a man who he regards with suspicion when he tries to flee the scene of a check going on after a passenger reports his wallet as stolen, witnesses a bomb explosion killing innocent people. Virat manages to capture the man, Ajmal Lateef, who he realizes is a terrorist and has planted the bomb, but he escapes from the hospital with the help of a police mole. Virat kidnaps Ajmal again, interrogates him to ascertain the name of the police mole and also forces the police mole, corrupt ACP Ashok Gaikwad to commit suicide. He later discovers while examining contents in Ajmal's bag that a terrorist group has planned serial blasts in Mumbai to be executed in a couple of days with the help of 12 sleeper agents, including Ajmal himself. Virat remembers that on the day when the bombs are going to be planted, there is a wedding where his team member Joel is tying the knot, and all his Army officer friends are going to assemble. Along with his fellow Army officers and Mukund, Virat manages to track these bombers, Ajmal included, and kills them before they could trigger the bombs.
When the leader of these sleeper cells, whose brother, Afsar Ali, was also one of the sleeper bombers, finds out about the team of officers involved in the failure of the terrorist attack, he goes to Joel's house and kills his family and finds an album which has photos of team officers. He targets one officer's female relative from each team and kidnaps them. When Virat realises the plan, he substitutes one of the girls to be kidnapped, with his younger sister Preeti. Using his pet dog Rocky and his sister Pinky's dupatta, he manages to reach the terrorists' hideout. He eliminates all the terrorists and rescues all the victims, including Preeti, who was about to be killed after Virat's bluff was exposed. Virat also captures Asif Ali, who was the leader of the group but later kills him on realising that Asif is just the second-in-command of the sleeper cells.
When this tactic fails, the leader of the sleeper cells decides to target the primary assailant himself. He kills Kapil and his family, he being one of the army officers, through a blast, and forces Virat, who he discovers is the man responsible for Afsar's death, to surrender. Virat decides to sacrifice his life and plans a suicide attack by instructing Mukund and his fellow officer Joel to follow him via a tracking chip inserted in his arm and plant a bomb at the terrorists' hideout. Virat then drives to a port in various cars, as instructed by the sleeper's cells leader and ends up on a ship full of terrorists. To his shock, Virat finds out that the cars he was asked to drive had bombs in them, which will frame him and his team as terrorists and also boost their plans to recruit sleeper cells in the Indian Army with the help of the Joint Defense Secretary of India Mr. Alvin D'Souza, who is also a member of this terrorist group. Meanwhile, Joel, who was in touch with Mukund as instructed by Virat, plants a bomb at the base of the ship. By this time, Virat realises he must get out alive, but during the one-on-one fight with the leader of the sleeper cells, his shoulder is dislocated. However, he is able to pop it back into place and escapes with the sleeper cell's leader, holding him alive at gunpoint, on a boat before the ship explodes, after the ship explodes, Virat shoots down the leader of the sleeper cells. The film ends with Virat forcing Alvin D'Souza to commit suicide and later returning to guard the border along with his team.
The film's production commenced in 2013 with the working title of Pistol under the banner of Hari Om Entertainment and Sunshine Pictures. The songs are composed by Pritam Chakraborty, while the background score is composed by Prasad Sashte. The stunt coordinator of the film is Greg Powell.[10]
The film's soundtrack album composed by Pritam, was released on 12 May 2014. Additional songs featured in the audio CD were composed by Kaushik Dutta, were released on 2 June 2014. The lyrics were written by Irshad Kamil for the songs featured in the film. Sukumar Dutta wrote the lyrics for Kaushik Dutta's composition. Prasad Sashte composed the background score of the film. A reprise version of the song "Ashq Na Ho" was released on 17 March 2016. The Reprise version was sung by singer Asees Kaur.
The film has received positive reviews from the critics. ABP News similarly rated it 4.5/5, calling it a "fast-paced, exhilarating roller coaster ride"[15] Taran Adarsh gave 4/5 and states that it 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.[16]
Filmfare critic praised the film as a "Genuinely smart action thriller".[22] Raja Sen of Rediff gave the film 1.5 out of 5 stars and said, "Holiday takes obscene amounts of time getting to the point."[23]
Akshay Kumar is celebrated not only for his acting prowess and entertaining films but also for his unwavering discipline and remarkable work-life balance. The versatile actor manages to seamlessly navigate his professional commitments while savoring precious moments with his family. In an exclusive scoop, Pinkvilla has learned that Akshay has earmarked 100-plus days for holidays in the year 2024, a practice he has now followed for 18 years.
In an exclusive revelation, Pinkvilla has uncovered that Bollywood icon Akshay Kumar has meticulously crafted his agenda for the upcoming year, deftly balancing his shooting schedule and personal time.
Upholding a remarkable tradition of 18 years, Akshay has dedicated over 100 days for holidays, encompassing 52 Sundays, a 30-day summer break, 10 days devoted to birthdays, 10 days for Diwali festivities, and another 10 days to ring in the New Year.
Delving into his work schedule, Akshay plans to engage in daily work shifts from Monday to Saturday, spanning 9 am to 6 pm. The actor is set to shoot for 4 to 5 films this year, including much-anticipated titles like Welcome To The Jungle, Housefull 5, and Jolly LLB 3. Additionally, he will be lending his time to around 20 brand shoots.
In a previous exclusive report, Pinkvilla revealed that Akshay Kumar strategically chose Bade Miyan Chote Miyan as his next theatrical release, marking a deliberate six-month hiatus since his last cinematic venture, Mission Raniganj. This thoughtful decision stems from the actor's attentive consideration of feedback from well-wishers.
To ring in the new year with a bang, the makers of Bade Miyan Chote Miyan unveiled an exciting sneak peek on January 1, showcasing the dynamic duo of Akshay Kumar and Tiger Shroff cruising through the waters on a jet ski.
This action-packed film also features Prithviraj Sukumaran in a pivotal role. Helmed by director Ali Abbas Zafar and backed by Pooja Entertainment and AAZ Films, this entertainment extravaganza is all set to grace the silver screen in April 2024, perfectly timed to coincide with the festival of Eid.
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