Of Santa and Cardinals. Review on Merry Christmas

Writer - director Sriram Raghavan is known to be fascinated by crime thriller novels(esp. James Headley) and fairly succeeding to adapt them into entertaining Hindi film premises. Most of his films irrespective of box office numbers have been a compelling watch for hardcore mystery lovers. Merry Christmas, his latest offering is inspired by Frederic Dard's 1961 novel “Bird In A Cage”. One of the other major reasons for the film to have created buzz since its announcement, was the unusual lead pairing of Makkal Selvan Vijay Sethupathi and Katrina Kaif. Both actors come from diametrically opposite schools of acting and have never associated previously with Raghavan.

The film begins in Mumbai(then Bombay) during the early 90s when Albert Ramesh(Vijay Sethupathy) returning to his home on a Christmas eve. Tired and a trifle sad, Albert decides to go out & cheer himself up for the occasion. He bumps into Maria(Katrina Kaif) and her young daughter Annie(Pari Sharma) at a restaurant. Circumstances lead them to talk to each other and they manage picking up candid conversations. How lives of these complete strangers get connected and entwined is how the story progresses from here.

While the introduction of characters and setting up of the backdrop is quick, it does take some time to establish the chemistry among the principal characters. The first half definitely progresses through regular twists but stretches a bit. Post interval portions are comparatively tighter, fast-paced and grittier. Sriram Raghavan here unlike his previous body of work, experiments with the treatment of the narrative. He focusses more on emotional connect and human relationships. As a result, the surprise elements are slightly underplayed, shock values don’t peak beyond a limit and few points are left to viewers’ discretion. This may draw varied reactions from average cine-goers. Having said that, Raghavan’s smart use of philosophical metaphors, biblical references, out-of-the-box props, making the audience connect the dots via exciting analogies are top notch as usual. The highlighted credits offered to veteran Shakti Samanta, Ittefaq, the X’mas Widow and other inspirations are interestingly done.

Co-writers Arijit Biswas, Pooja Ladha Surti and Anukriti Pandey have done a commendable job. Cinematography by Madhu Neelakandan is exceptional with his cinematic camera angles, aerial shots and fast movements. Mayur Sharma does a fantastic job in recreating retro Bombay(old roads, streetlights, Regal cinema, etc.). Daniel B. George’s background music is well aligned with the narrative. Music by Pritam is good, lyrics by Varun Grover hummable. Dialogues are deep and novelistic.

Performance wise, Vijay Sethupathy is effortless, natural and seamless as usual. His casual tone in tackling unpredictable situations is simply impeccable. Katrina Kaif comes up with a mature, subtle yet strong performance. The actress has grown tremendously as an artist esp. post Zero(2018) and fits the role perfectly. Pari Sharma looks cute and vulnerable. Sanjay Kapoor is quite impressive. Radhika Apte plays her part well. Luke Kenny is good. Tinu Anand is likeable. The Sriram Raghavan-verse regulars viz. Vinay Pathak, Ashwini Kalsekar, Pratima Kazmi Kannan make their presence felt in brief roles.

To summarize, Merry Christmas is not a typical edge of the seat thriller but has its share of brilliantly written, intelligently executed and innovatively presented moments(to be observed meticulously) to cherish and applaud.

All in all, a decently entertaining and engaging fare worth a watch for its unusual treatment and likeable performances.