Helmed by Sriram Raghavan, the upcoming thriller Merry Christmas stars Katrina Kaif and Vijay Sethupathi in the lead roles. The movie released today in theaters on January 12, 2024. The film is produced by Ramesh Taurani, Jaya Taurani, Sanjay Routray and Kewal Garg under the banners of Tips Films and Matchbox Pictures. It is distributed by Pen Marudhar Entertainment and UFO Moviez in Hindi and by Lyca Productions in Tamil.
Merry Christmas Plot:
It’s Christmas evening in Mumbai (when it was called Bombay), Jingle Bell is played on a flute, a guy dressed as Santa is driving a Bajaj Chetak on the not-so-busy roads & two strangers are at a restaurant as one gets dumped by her date even before the arrival of the main course. Albert (Vijay Sethupathi) sees this and does whatever a ‘just-out-of-jail after seven years’ guy would do after watching a beautiful lady (with her daughter) getting ditched at the last moment; he follows them.
It tells the story of two strangers – Albert (Vijay Sethupathi) and Maria (Katrina Kaif) – who unknowingly cross paths and are sucked into a web of unfortunate events. You know you are in for a roller-coaster ride when it’s a Sriram Raghavan film and Merry Christmas doesn’t disappoint. It keeps you on the edge of your seat, guessing and anticipating Albert and Maria’s next move.
Merry Christmas Performances
Vijay Sethupathi is a delight, and he just fills up every frame with his smooth one-liners and that irresistible charm. There is a scene that drew applause based on his sheer expressions, no dialogue required. Katrina Kaif surrenders to Raghavan’s vision and delivers one of her career best performances. She steals the thunder specially in second half.
Sanjay Kapoor, in a special appearance, does the required task, bringing his natural presence. Radhika Apte is used as a lucky charm, and she’s as good as she always has been. Vinay Pathak & Pratima Kazmi as the police are, as usual, fun to watch. Tinnu Anand has a decent lending role.
Merry Christmas Analysis
Writers Pooja Ladha Surti, Arijit Biswas, Anukriti Pandey and Sriram Raghavan have done a neat job with the story. The problem lies in screenplay as it moves on very slow pace in first half. Having obsession with mood building and with old Mumbai are not problems but it can not take over storytelling. Cinematography by Madhu Neelakandan is first rate as he elevated the mood of settings and scenes. Pooja Ladha Surti as editor falters this time as she tests audience’s patience multiple times. One is not expecting a fast paced thriller but just to stretch few scenes for the sake of ‘moody thriller’ is crime in fast paced world of 2024.
Mayur Sharma’s production design is authentic in showcasing vintage mumbai. Costume design by Shaahid Aamir is apt. Raghavan’s favourite Daniel B George is outstanding once again as background composer. Music is average though Pritam delivers one hummable song penned by Varun Grover Raat Akeli Thi.
This is not best work of director Sriram Raghavan for sure but it’s not as bad as Agent Vinod or predictable as Badlapur. Film has its moments and Raghavan delivers at the end with some signature tricks. But the characters and settings are too typical for a Raghavan film.
Merry Christmas Verdict
Film has its share of issues. First of all is slow pace specially first half. Source material Bird In A Cage by Frédéric Dard (French novel from 1961) was an easy choice to be fair but Raghavan has given it his own twist with fair share of fun weaved in. But film never ever takes off and never indulges you beyond a point as too much conversation around similar themes gets boring. It has Raghavan magic moments but very few.
Film will find very few takers at box office and low pre release buzz. Though to be fair, it might remain best Hindi thriller of the year 2024.
Rating:
Critic Rating: 3/5
Box Office Rating: 1/5
Watch trailer:
Stay tuned for Movie reviews, ott reviews, latest bollywood movie reviews, box office movie reviews.
