HOLIDAY is the coming -of -age story of an ordinary girl who becomes extraordinary by simply following her heart and by eventually learning to celebrate her ordinariness! When Dr. Prakash Suri his wife Nandini (Anahita Uberoi) and the two daughters Samara (Nauhhed) and Muskaan (Onjolee Nair), embark on a month long vacation to Goa, none of them have a clue that this 'holiday' will change their lives forever.
The film has been written by Mahesh Bhatt with dialogues penned by Niranjan Iyengar, Neelesh Misra and Neelima Pandey and is Pooja Bhatt’s second directorial venture, after her last film, PAAP. The intensely emotional film is in total contrast to Pooja Bhatt’s previous films, and marks a digression into a different genre of film-making. The film has a very inspiring musical score by popular percussionist Ranjit Barot, with lyrics written by Neelesh Misra. The music is already on the popularity charts especially the ‘Khwaishon Se’ number which is a hot rage among the youth. Another factor to watch out for is Bosco-Caesar and Naimish Brahmbhatt’s brilliant choreography in the film.
The film marks the acting debut of Onjolee Nair, who with her unconventional looks manages to give a tremendous conviction to the role of the gawky looking young girl, who is low on confidence and realizes her self-esteem and true worth. In that respect it is a very unusual debut for Onjolee, where her capability to perform comes to the fore. There have been various rumors doing the rounds that Onjolee’s character is inspired from Jassi in the famous serial, JASSI JAISI KOI NAHIN. However unlike Jassi, who has a makeover at the end of the film, HOLIDAY, does not have the protagonist going for a make-over to realize her self-worth. Paired with Onjolee is Dino Morea, who has given a sensitive performance in the film. Also worth watching is the brilliant cinematography with Goa at its picturesque best.
The film also sends a subtle message that at a time when beauty pageants have become the order of the day and teenagers are obsessed with their looks, being beautiful is no prerequisite to success. All in all, HOLIDAY is a different film coming from the Bhatts.