Director: Sriram Raghavan
Cast: Katrina Kaif, Vijay Sethupathi, Sanjay Kapoor, Vinay Pathak, Pari Sharma and others
Where: In theatres near you
Rating: 3.5 stars
Unfair to compare with Andhadhun, Merry Christmas is filmmaker Sriram Raghavan’s latest offering which is laced with several plot twists and his typical style of storytelling. The film is utterly clever, engaging, and entertaining in almost every sense.
Raghavan, has been a sucker of mysteries from the golden era— Teesri Manzil, Jewel Thief, etc., but Merry Christmas is a bonafide ode to yesteryear’s maverick Shakti Samanta. The film opens with a big scream of Asha Parekh from Kati Patang, taking back the cinephiles to the 1970s.
Set on the night of Christmas Eve, Sriram narrates the curious life story of a single mother Maria (Katrina Kaif), who is on a day out with her mute daughter Annie (Pari Sharma). She accidentally meets Albert (Vijay Sethupathi), a Dubai-returned architect, but life unfolds bitter truths as they cross paths with each other.
Things don’t go well with the two when Ronnie (Sanjay Kapoor), unfortunately, bumps into Maria, Annie, and Albert. The three experience a murder by chance and soon after, a cop (Vinay Pathak) enters to investigate the murder. Now, who’s the culprit?
Whenever Sriram promises a speedy ride of a murder and a suspect, he does it so well. His intention of creating a whole new world of a festive scene with his not-so-rosy characters is so damn well projected. He surely believes in a solid treatment of his screenplay and execution that is eerie to the core.
To compile his crazy thoughts and collate them into a one-night story is just about perfect. He certainly chased his first half with great acceleration but the second half could have been tighter— not letting anyone conclude, Raghavan takes his own sweet time only to unravel the climax that might be well deserved by Sriram’s imagination.
In the times, where pseudo-feminists and hypocrisy are ruling social media and blowing their trumpets about films like Animal, Merry Christmas is certainly a good watch with minimal effort to be in a race among gen-z hype.
Pointless to match with the cult Andhadhun, Merry Christmas is quite impressive as a standalone Raghavan product. His love for instrumental piano as his BGM with no dialogues is fascinating.
Vijay, an unconventional performer is glorious in his ability to act. He resonates perfectly with the face of a common man. Katrina does her part fairly well but raises questions a bit about being Raghavan’s leading lady. Sanjay Kapoor, although, has less screen time but is pleasant on screen. Radhika Apte is merely there for two scenes, but again monotonous. Vinay Pathak is noticeable, but it’s obvious, isn’t it?
Merry Christmas is a fun ride unless you force yourself to compare it with Andhadhun. It isn’t fair on Sriram’s part, who serves a jaw-dropping plot that is a tad bit longer than needed though.
